Lab Rats
by mangi-writes
Summary: As if becoming the lab rat of some mad scientist wasn't enough, he had to drag me to some alternate dimension in the process. But now that I've escaped, as long as I can lay low and stay out of trouble, then maybe I'll be able to get home. That should be easy enough, right? Of course, it never is. Self-insert.
1. Ambushed

**Hey guys!**

****Rated T for language, before anything else, because, realistically, I tend to drop a few f-bombs when I'm stressed ;)**

**So, a couple of chapters of this have been sitting half-written in my documents for ages, but I finally gathered up the guts to decide to post it. Before you judge, yep, it's a self-insert, but I promise it isn't going to be the cringe-worthy kind that gives these sorts of fics bad names (at least, I hope not, anyway). Basically, it isn't an "aware" SI, which really just means Tales of Xillia doesn't exist as a game in this universe, and that Rieze Maxia exists as another dimension. That alone, gives it a bit more realism that I think is easier to work with.**

**Anyway, yeah. I promise, my OC isn't going to gain super strength and kick everyone's ass. She isn't going to have a steamy love affair with anyone, main character or not. My goal is to work on relationships with everyone equally, not just fan favourites (as super hard as that will be because looking ahead at planned parts, I obviously picked favourites). She'll react how I think I would react, which is definitely not turning into a heartbreaking badass**

**Now that I'm done justifying the genre, I hope you enjoy! Beginnings are always kind of rough, but I think I might have done okay. There are a few OCs in this chapter, but we have a main character coming next chapter, so don't worry :)**

**2016 Edit**: I rewrote a bunch of these first few chapters so if you're reading this for the first time then this doesn't apply to you but! It happened. I changed this beginning the most. Aged the character up and stuff. Okay bye have fun.**

* * *

I flopped down onto my bed face-first, letting my purse drop to the floor with a dull thud. My summer job was pretty chill as far as summer jobs go - a tiny family-owned convenience store in a sleepy retirement town. However, it got surprisingly busy, and I currently couldn't even remember the last time I'd had a day off. The days were starting to blur together.

I gazed at the calendar hanging on my wall. It was still set to April, even though it was the middle of May. I'd been finished school for a little over a month, and I still had to struggle through the months until September before I could leave this town for the last time and get back for my final year of university. Back to my friends, back to a city I actually loved.

I lay in complete silence for several moments before I heard the loud clicking of my dog's nails against the hardwood. She paused at my bed, being the skittish little thing she was, and jerked forwards and backwards several times before actually making the jump. She immediately came around to lay directly by my face, silently demanding me to scratch her ears.

"You want an ear scratch, huh Nina?" I sighed deeply, and did just that. The house was strangely quiet. It was one of those rare weekends when I had the house completely to myself. My mom was out of town for the weekend. My four-year-old niece was visiting her grandparents, meaning my sister was probably taking the opportunity to party all weekend. Thankfully, I would not be seeing her.

I started doing my nightly ritual of checking through all of my social media apps, even though there wasn't really anything new to see - my job was laid back enough that I could usually check my phone between customers.

As I was closing my apps, I decided to check Pokemon Go, just for the hell of it. Nothing good ever really spawned near my house, especially at night, but the big church and graveyard down the street was a surprising hot spot for them, with two gyms and four stops.

I was greeted by the big black silhouette of what looked like either a Ponyta or a Rapidash. Either way, I practically jumped out of my bed, only pausing when I realized that it was pitch black outside. Was I really going to wander around my neighbourhood at 10:30 at night looking for a bunch of pixels?

I answered my own question by pulling on a hoodie and my boots. It wasn't like I lived in the bad part of town anyway. At the very least, I knew practically everyone on my street. I'd be fine. It wasn't the kind of outing I'd attempt if my mom was home. Even though I was 21 and lived on my own for the majority of the year, she still had a tendency to treat me like I was 12 sometimes. Being the youngest of three girls has that downfall, I guess.

I shivered a bit as the night air hit me. I live in Canada, so even though it was May, the nights still got pretty cold. I was just thankful the snow had finally melted.

I kept a watchful eye on my phone screen as I headed towards the graveyard. I'd brought my purse with me as a sort of "just in case", but I already regretted it. All it was really doing was weighing me down.

I half-expected there to be people hanging around, fellow Pokemon players training at the gyms or hitting the stops, but the rows of tombstones were completely deserted. I was a bit relieved, honestly. This made it easier to quickly finish what I came to do.

I'd made it halfway across the graveyard when two things happened. My phone had just given a short vibration (which turned out to just be a stupid Rattata) when a low "boof!" caught my attention. An old golden retriever had run up to me, wagging its tail.

"Hi puppy!" I said happily. Seeing a dog was enough to make me forget all about the purple rat on my phone screen (not that it would have taken much). My obsession with dogs was probably bordering on unhealthy, but I couldn't think of anything on this earth that I loved more, so I shoved my phone in my sweater pocket and crouched down in front of him.

The dog let out a tiny whimper, and I noticed that he was only putting pressure on one of his front paws. Something dark was smeared across his fur. Heart thudding in my chest, I retrieved my phone and turned on its flashlight to see that a large gash was spread across its front leg, and it was bleeding freely.

"What happened to you?" I asked, my voice cracking in panic. There was a _lot _of blood seeping out of that cut. I stood up and glanced around, looking for anyone that could help me. But of course, as I'd noticed before, the graveyard was deserted. He'd probably gotten loose, the poor thing.

The dog started barking, and then suddenly took off with a limping gait towards the church.

"No, come back!" I called after him, tears falling freely at this point. He had to belong to _somebody_ – if the worn, leather collar around his neck was anything to judge by. I couldn't just let him take off by himself. He wouldn't survive! And I would absolutely never forgive myself if that happened and I'd done nothing to stop it.

So I started running after him, cursing my own laziness when the dog was _still_ faster than me with a bleeding leg. He headed towards a thicket of bushes that separated the church parking lot and the nearby elementary school. Even with my flashlight shining into the depths of the leaves, I could barely see anything. The only way I was going to be able to find him was if I headed blindly into the bushes. What if there were wild animals in there, though? Poison ivy?

My inner debate was immediately settled for me when he began yelping loudly.

"Poor, stupid thing probably got stuck on something," I muttered as I began pushing dead branches aside. I raised my voice. "Puppy! Where did you go?"

I heard a rustle to my left. I turned, searching the darkness without much luck. I could barely see anything. How was I supposed to find him in all this darkness?

Another rustle, this time from behind me. I whirled around, and let out a startled yelp. A girl was standing there, one who had definitely not been there a moment ago, her hands clasped behind her back. She was silhouetted against the harsh light of the streetlamp behind her, but I could make out a braided crown of red hair.

"Oh jeez, you scared me," I said, laughing nervously. I ran my hand through my hair and looked around again. "Um, listen, did you see a dog hanging around? He ran into these trees and he looked really hurt. I'm scared for him."

She shook her head, and when she stepped forward, I could make out a small smile on her face. "I have not. Perhaps you imagined him?"

"Uh..." She had an accent, one I couldn't place. Finnish maybe? Swedish?

The girl took another step towards me, allowing her hands to fall to her sides. My stomach clenched and my blood ran cold when I saw what she was holding -

It was a knife.

I took a step back, trying not to let out a fearful whimper, but there was another person standing right behind me, what felt like a tall man, judging by the way I slammed into his chest. His arm wrapped across my shoulders, the other hand clamping across my mouth to kill the scream building in my throat.

The girl came to stand right in front of me, holding the knife up to the light. It was strange, almost mechanical looking, and now that she was directly in front of me, I saw that it was glowing dimly in the darkness.

"This knife is nothing to be afraid of," she said gently. Her big doe eyes glinted at the man behind me. "However, the needle my partner is holding may pose more of a worry to you."

"Whmmfh?" I bit down on the man's hand, just as he used his other hand to stick a syringe into my neck. The panic causing my heart to race slowly stilled, as dull exhaustion seeped into my bones, causing me to slump in the man's arms. I was vaguely reminded of when I got my wisdom teeth out – the world slowly started turning black, and the last vision I had before passing out was the girl's ruby red lips pulling into a serene, almost oblivious smile.

* * *

"...ading on...ana."

The world slowly came back to me in hazy fragments. I could hear muffled, unfamiliar voices, and was aware of the feeling of hard, cold steel beneath my heavy body.

Heavy...my body felt _so _heavy, like my limbs were made of lead. I tried to lift an arm, but I couldn't move it an inch. It almost felt like it was strapped down. Why was I so heavy? Why did everything hurt? What...what had happened? I just wanted to go back to sleep.

"And...urry up. Lor...and is wait...n a report."

I felt something gently touch my forehead. A bright light suddenly erupted in front of my eyes, and I squinted, groaning in protest.

"...would appear she's waking up."

The light had cleared away some of the haze in my mind, and I was beginning to understand that something was very wrong. I struggled to open my heavy eyelids, but forcing them to adjust to the light was a difficult task.

"It's just as you said, Dr. Elias," a voice directly above me said in wonder. "There's not an ounce of mana anywhere in her body. She really must not have a mana lobe. That's amazing!"

The light went away. I felt it safe to open my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the face of an unfamiliar man. He loomed over me, giving me a look of wonder from behind a pair of thin glasses.

"Of course she doesn't," a low, lazy voice drawled from somewhere out of sight. "Neither did the last three. Honestly, Boris. Keep up. It's not 'amazing' if she's just going to end up escaping or croaking like the others."

Faster and faster I began realizing the situation. The room I was in had walls of tarnished steel. The man hovering above me was definitely some sort of scientist, and finally, the most horrifying conclusion of all:

My arms weren't heavy. I couldn't move them because I was strapped to a table.

"R-Right," the scientist said hastily. "My apologies."

I heard slow footsteps clunking against metal and a second face entered my vision. It was another man, a sleek, blonde braid slung over one shoulder and a pair of glasses perched on his elegant face. He smiled, but it was far from comforting. It was that kind of smile that a creepy little kid gets right before he kicks the cat into the pool. Devious.

I opened my mouth to scream, but it died in my throat when he placed a long finger against my lips.

"Don't waste your energy, darling. It isn't going to accomplish anything."

"Who the _fuck_ are you?" I demanded, thrashing against the metal restraints that held me in place. "Where am I?"

He ignored my questions in favour of roughly grabbing me by the chin, turning my face from side to side to examine it.

"Hm, you seem to be in better health than our previous subject...then again, perhaps I am only remembering her in her final moments. She'd grown so thin, the poor thing."

"Answer me!" I screamed at him, but fear warped my voice into nothing more than a pathetic whimper.

"My name is Dr. Elias, if you really must know." He retrieved a flashlight from his pocket, like the ones that doctors use to see down your throat. He used two fingers to hold my lids open and shone it directly into my eye for a brief moment. "I must say, you're quite lucky. Out of all the people on your miserable excuse for a planet, you were chosen to be a part of our experiment."

"E-Experiment?" My whole body grew cold at the word. All I could think of was horror stories I'd heard about people being kidnapped by sick psychopaths and getting picked apart like a damn frog in a high school lab. My heartbeat immediately kicked into overdrive. Was that going to happen to me? Was he going to torture and kill me?

"Aw, don't cry." He wiped away tears from my face that I hadn't even known I was crying. "You're going to help a whole world of people with your little mana-less body. I just know you're going to be the one." He'd begun stroking my face, and a serene smile now crossed his lips. "Lord Gilland's gonna be kissing my feet when I'm done with you, little mouse."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said desperately. "Please, just let me go!"

"Boris," he said calmly. "Grab the mana serum, would you?"

The man, Boris, was starting to look a bit nervous at my crying, but he did as he was told regardless. I latched onto that hesitation as soon as he'd returned, carrying a syringe with a long needle and filled with a dull, purple liquid.

"Please help me!" I begged, throwing myself against my restraints once more. "Don't do this!"

"Do you think this serum will work, sir?" He trained his eyes on Elias, completely ignoring my pleas for help.

Elias took the syringe and examined it carefully. "We will find out as we always have, Boris – through practice." Using one hand, he firmly held my head in place, turning it to the side to expose my neck. I barely had time to gather air for a scream before he plunged the needle into my neck.

That was when I screamed. It was unlike anything I'd ever done before, a loud, shrill sound that pierced the air and stung my throat. The pain from the needle was a sharp, intense burst of pain, and as whatever the hell was in that syringe began spreading through my veins, the pain increased, rushing through my veins like...I couldn't even describe it. It felt like fire. This must have been what poison felt like. It stole my breath from me, and yet I continued to waste what little breath I had by screaming...and screaming...and screaming.

Elias let out a laugh, continuing to hold my head in place. I began to feel nauseous, and I had to fight back the urge to vomit as a horrible ache erupted in my skull. With blurry vision, my eyes fell upon a door, moments before it opened and a frantic assistant hurried into the room.

"Dr. Elias!"

"What is it, Danielle?" asked Elias, sounding more than annoyed.

"It's...it's _him," _she said. "He's infiltrated the facility."

"Shit," Elias hissed. His hand left my head, but I refused to move an inch. The urge to vomit was becoming way to strong to fight, and each movement made it that much worse. "I wasn't expecting him so soon."

Because I was so focused on the woman in the doorway, I was able to watch with full clarity as something struck her from behind and she fell to the ground, unconscious. In her place stood a boy a few years older than me, with neat brown hair and a scar cutting up his neck, all the way to his cheek. He wielded an impressive-looking battle axe, and he currently held it stretched towards Elias and Boris.

He opened his mouth and began to speak, but for some reason, I couldn't hear his voice. His mouth formed soundless words, and I soon realized that I couldn't hear him because I was losing consciousness. I welcomed the blackness – anything to relieve me from the horrible nausea and pain.

* * *

Blacking out wasn't anything I'd ever done before, and after doing it twice in such a short period of time, I was beginning to realize that it wasn't something I was very fond of.

When I finally came around the second time, I felt like hell. My limbs weren't as heavy as the first time, which I assumed meant I wasn't tied down anymore. However, that was literally the only upside. A splitting headache raged inside my skull, and the nausea I'd been feeling before returned with full force.

"I-I'm gonna puke," I announced to no one in particular. I wasn't even sure if there was anyone around.

"Here." An unseen hand thrust a bucket in my direction, and I proceeded to empty my stomach into it. Each heave didn't really do much for my headache, but there wasn't really much I could do. As much as I hated puking, it was a relief to rid myself of the need to do it.

Once I decided I was finished, I fell back onto the bed, because yes, I was in a bed. It was really soft, warm and comfortable – a welcome change from the cold steel of that awful lab.

"How are you feeling?"

I stared around the room. It was dark, the only light coming from a couple of really weird-looking lamps – they looked like golden, glowing trees. From their light I could tell that it looked like I was in some sort of hotel room. A large bay window lay on the other side of the room, the curtains drawn, and it contained minimal, but fancy-looking furniture, including a dresser, a table and chairs, and another bed beside mine, separated by a wooden nightstand.

The boy who'd asked the question sat on this other bed. It took me a moment to realize, but I soon recognized him as the same boy from that...lab. Whatever it was.

"I've been better," I admitted, or at least, I tried to. My voice was hoarse and raspy, my throat screaming in protest.

"Here, drink this." He handed me a glass of water that had been sitting on the nightstand. I eased myself into a sitting position and happily gulped down its contents.

"Where am I?" I asked once my voice had partially returned.

"We're in Fennmont," he told me. "You've been out for a couple of days now. Carrying you all the way here wasn't an easy task."

"A couple _days?!" _I exclaimed. I immediately jumped to my feet, but was knocked back down by dizziness and nausea.

"Don't move so suddenly," he said sternly. "You haven't eaten in days, and the serum sapped your strength considerably. You should focus on resting."

"Do you think I care?! I need to get home!" Now that, as far as I knew, my life was out of immediate danger, I felt panic quickly surge up inside of me.

He placed his hands firmly on my shoulders to keep me from jumping up again. "I understand, but that's not exactly possible right now."

"What do you mean?" His gentle words were doing nothing to ease my nerves. "You said I'm in Fennmont, right? Where in Canada is that? What province?" I asked this, of course, assuming I actually was still _in _Canada. Something deep in my gut, however, told me that things were a little more complicated than that.

"Fennmont is the capital city of Rashugal," he said hesitantly. "Which is one of two major countries in Rieze Maxia, the other being Auj Oule."

I stared at him, trying to digest his words, but failing pretty badly. Rashugal? That name sounded...African, or something, but I'd never heard of it in my life. What was this Rieze Maxia, some kind of...continent? No, that didn't make sense. Unless...

No. I shut that thought down before it could even fully form. That Elias character had said something about my 'planet', and 'a whole world of people', but he was clearly mentally unstable, and so was I if I was actually going to turn to his mindless ramblings as a solution.

But then the boy gave my shoulders a squeeze to grab my attention. "Look, there's a lot I need to explain to you, but it's not exactly believable, so I think I should start by telling you that I am one hundred percent your ally."

"Um, okay..." What was he talking about?

"I mean it," he insisted. He brought one of his hands away to gently trace the scar running up his face. "I got this scar escaping from that bastard who tried to experiment on you. I was his first test subject."

My eyes widened. "Seriously? He did that to you? Who the hell is he, anyway?"

"His name is Elias Vindel," he said, and I could tell how much hatred he held for him by the way his jaw clenched just at spitting out the name. "He's a scientist who works for a group called Exodus, and his pet project is trying to develop mana lobes in people who don't have them." He placed a finger on my forehead. "People like you."

"M-Mana lobes...?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but it definitely sounded very scientific and complicated, so maybe I wasn't supposed to. "And he kidnapped you too?"

"Once. It was years ago, and I got jumped walking home from school by some weirdos who knocked me unconscious. When I awoke, I was strapped to a table with his smug face grinning down at me." He raised an eyebrow. "Sound familiar?"

"That's...exactly what happened!" I said excitedly. I mean, I obviously wasn't happy to be a part of some weird kidnapping scheme, but at least this guy knew what I was going through. Maybe he could even help me get home!

"Good, so we're on the same page." He abruptly stood from the bed and walked over to the table. Sitting on top of it was a weird-looking device that almost looked like some sort of knife – one that I recognized right away as the knife that girl had been carrying. He picked it up, weighing it in his palm, before turning back to me. "I managed to steal this from Elias when I rescued you. It's the spyrix they used to cut through the dimensional barrier and bring you here."

"Wait, what?" I gave my head a quick shake. "Dimensional barrier? What the hell are you talking about?"

He gave me an almost sad look. "This is the part of the story that's going to be hard for you to believe. It's going to sound completely insane, but you have to believe me when I tell you it's real."

I felt uneasy. Something told me this wasn't going to be solved by booking a plane ticket back home and filing a report to the police. Something a lot more complicated was going on than I realized.

"You've been taken to another world," he said. "It's called Rieze Maxia."

I wasn't sure how he'd expected me to react, but he was definitely surprised when I started laughing. I wasn't even sure why I _did _start laughing, but...that whole sentence was just so completely ridiculous that I didn't even know what to say.

"Another world?" I said. "Am I supposed to believe that? This is a joke, right?"

"I wouldn't lie to you in a situation like this," he snapped, dropping the 'spyrix' onto the table. "I know it sounds completely insane – I didn't believe it at first either. But after spending as much time as I have in this goddamn place, I think I'd know if this place is Earth or not, and it's not."

"I..." My eyes fell upon the glowing trees. He certainly sounded convinced, but how was I actually expected to believe such a story? He easily could have been just as crazy as that Elias guy. "I'm sorry, it's just..."

"I know you're scared." He came back over and sat on the bed again, lowering his voice into a gentler tone. "I've been through it – and I've seen others gone through it. It isn't just you. But if you want any chance of staying free from Exodus, then you need to accept it."

"I _can't!" _I exclaimed. My voice broke and tears welled up in my eyes. "I just want to go home."

His face softened. "I'm going to try to make that happen. I _promise. _But until that happens, you need to blend into this world. You need to become a Rieze Maxian, so that they'll never expect you of being anything but that."

I forced myself to look him in the eyes. They were green, a pale mossy colour that reminded me a lot of my dad. My dad who I didn't really talk to that much, who put all of his life onto Facebook, who was the butt of many of my family's jokes –

Who I'd never see again if I didn't listen to this guy.

"Okay," I said quietly. "Tell me everything I need to know."

Rieze Maxia. A world that was composed entirely of things called "spirits". Apparently, there was another world called Elympios that lay separate from Rieze Maxia, separated by something called the "schism". Exodus, the group that Elias was with, came from Elympios 20 years ago and were trapped here. From what Keegan knew (Keegan being the boy who had saved me), their main goal was returning to their home, which was a place that was quickly draining their supply of spirits by using things called "spyrixes". Since they didn't have mana lobes like Rieze Maxians and couldn't channel spirits, they had to kill them by using these spyrix things.

And that's where Keegan and I came in. This Elias asshole apparently had stumbled across the dimensional barrier to our world and realized it was a world without spirits. Since it was filled with humans with no mana lobes, he began developing a serum that would grow mana lobes within the brain so that he could use us to experiment on. That was roughly ten years ago, when Keegan was brought here, and now here we sat.

"What do you think?" he asked when the explanation was finally over.

"I..." Where did I even begin? "It's a lot to swallow."

"I understand. But surely you believe some of it?"

"I mean...I guess I have to," I said. I still felt sick, but at this point I couldn't tell if it was the thought of being away from home or still just side effects from the serum. Speaking of which...

"What about that serum?" I asked suddenly, running my fingers along my neck. They brushed over a patch of dried blood where the syringe had entered. "I'm not gonna grow a...a mana lobe, am I?"

"I'm still not entirely convinced that's even possible," Keegan admitted. "It's been ten years and Elias still hasn't gotten it right." He let out an exasperated sigh, as if he was talking about a little kid. "Anyway, I don't know. I don't think Elias got lucky enough to have his serum work on the first try, but that doesn't mean there won't be side effects."

"S-Side effects?"

"You should be fine," he quickly added, realizing how bad that had sounded. "I just mean the nausea and dizziness you're feeling. Since it was only one dose, I doubt anything serious will happen, but...there's really no way to tell."

I suppose there was no point in sugarcoating things for me. That didn't really seem like Keegan's style. Still, I was _really _scared. What if I ended up dropping dead tomorrow? What if I ended up with brain damage thanks to that asshole? I was scared, but I was also really pissed off.

"So, what now?" I asked him, fighting to keep my tone even. To my surprise, it was actually pretty easy. I felt a sudden burst of determination swell up inside of me, and even if it was only temporary, I actually felt a little better.

Keegan eyed the spyrix on the table. "Elias is smarter than I thought. He removed the spirit fossil from this thing, so it's useless as it is now."

"So how can we fix that?"

He glanced back at me in surprise. The action made him look a lot younger – or rather, more like his actual age. All of that brooding and contemplating he did made him look so old and tired, when he really couldn't have been more than a couple years older than I was.

"This thing is powerful, so any old spirit fossil won't do," he finally said. "I'd probably need to break into either the lab here in Fennmont, or back in Fort Gandala where I saved you to find one strong enough to power it."

"That sounds like it'd be hard," I commented.

He let out an irritated sigh. "You're right, it would be _extremely _hard, especially since they'll be on pretty high alert after me breaking in there the first time. They probably aren't just going to leave the thing lying around."

"So why don't we just wait until things have calmed down a bit?" I suggested.

"That's my plan exactly." He abruptly stood and walked over to the table. On one of the chairs sat a leather satchel, like the kind that old school children used. He brought it over and tossed it on the bed beside me.

"What's this?" I asked, but curiosity got the better of me and I started digging through its contents before he could answer.

"Your new identity."

I paused in the middle of pulling what looked like a textbook out of the bag. "Huh?"

"Keep looking," he said. "I'm going to be leaving for Auj Oule to throw Exodus off your track for a while. In the mean time, I've arranged for you to attend Talim Medical School as an exchange student from Sharilton."

"Wait, you're _leaving?!" _I let the bag drop to the floor. "Keegan, you can't just leave me here by myself. I'm totally defenceless! And you want me to attend a 'medical school'? I _barely _passed chemistry in high school, Keegan, I–"

"Calm down," he interrupted, impatiently I might add. "You don't have to become a doctor. You don't even have to pass. All you have to do is show up to class and pretend your story is true. It's only going to be until I'm able to find a replacement spirit fossil to send you home."

I bit down another annoyed comment. Instead, I started pulling stuff out of the bag. What I originally thought was a textbook was...well, it was a textbook. The title said "Complete Glossary of Medicinal Herbs in Rieze Maxia". Sounded very interesting. I tossed it on the bed beside me and kept searching.

"There should be an ID card in there," Keegan was saying. "There's also some textbooks you'll need, some cheat sheets on Rieze Maxia common knowledge, and more than enough gald for you to buy anything you'll need."

I lifted my head. "Gald?"

He sighed. "Looks like we'll have to spend a few days teaching you the basics, huh?"

"That would probably be helpful," I agreed. I found the cheat sheet he was talking about. Written neatly on it was basically a definition list – what looked like cities, important people, and just basic knowledge that I would need to know if I wanted to fit in. I silently thanked my lucky stars that I had someone like Keegan to help me through this, however moody he might be.

"Oh right," he said suddenly. "I should probably get you some food, huh? You haven't eaten in days."

At the thought of food, my stomach roared to life like some kind of vengeful monster. It was actually embarrassing how loudly it growled.

Keegan chuckled. "Right. I'll be back in a minute." He walked out the door, leaving me alone in the room.

I sighed and did my best to stand. My legs shook in protest and I was nearly knocked back down again. Never in my life had I felt so...weak. Hungry. I'd always considered myself lucky to be in as good of shape as I was in, despite my completely shit eating habits and lack of exercise, so to actually feel so drained was horrifying. I didn't like not having control of my body. I didn't like it at all.

I forced myself to drag my feet over to the window. Once there, I dropped myself onto the seat and pushed the curtains aside. A shocked gasp escaped my lips as soon as I did, because I really wasn't ready for the scene that lay before me.

Fennmont was...beautiful. Beautiful didn't even begin to describe it. It was a sprawling metropolis filled with light, with gargantuan trees that actually looked to have buildings carved into them. Walkways and bridges crossed over the water that ran through the whole city, and those same golden, glowing trees that lit up the hotel room were scattered across the city, giving off pollen that fell like beautiful, glowing snow.

This city...it was nuts. It looked like something out of a fantasy. The buildings were carved out of trees, and yet it looked so modern. Was this hotel carved out of a tree? How did they manage to carve a whole city out of trees? What kind of place was this?

_This is Rieze Maxia, _my mind told me, and my inner rant slowed down a bit. I guess all of this was to be expected of a world that was made of spirits and had magic and stuff. Still, I hadn't really begun to believe any of that bullshit, but...wow. Even the sky was incredible – it was tinted a beautiful emerald colour, scattered with stars and clouds and a huge moon that sat low in the sky. It was all too beautiful to be real, and yet...here I was.

"Wow..." I sighed, folding my arms across the windowsill and letting my chin rest against them. If I was going to hide out here for a little while, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. At least the view was nice, anyway. So, yeah. It wasn't all bad.

But even knowing how beautiful it was, I couldn't help but long for the red walls of my room. My hand reached out to pet a dog that wasn't even there, and my fingers closed around air, clenching into a fist.

Could I really do this? Was I really going to be able to just hang around this city while I waited to be rescued? How was I supposed to sit around calmly when my life was in danger? When I might never see my family again? The very thought of it caused my throat to tighten, and my eyes grew hot.

I had to be strong. That was what Keegan would tell me if he saw me cry. But even still, the urge to cry was almost overwhelming, and I squeezed my eyes shut to trap the tears inside. Okay. Deep breaths. I just had to stop thinking about it. I was going to try and lead a normal life – go to school, maybe meet a couple of friends – and everything was going to turn out fine.

That is, if I didn't get captured while Keegan was gone. Man, this sucked.

* * *

**So there we go!**

**I haven't seen too many (if any) Xillia self inserts kicking around, so hopefully I don't do too awful. I do have a lot of this planned already, two huge parts in particular, so I don't think I'll get bored of it. I've always wanted to do a self insert, and this is the only one I've really stuck with.**

**I'm hoping that alternating between this and Oblivious (my Symphonia fic, if anyone is interested!) will keep a bit more of a steady stream of updates than before.**

**Next up: OC Maggie learns the magic of elevators and _possibly_ gets herself into a sticky situation (already, god dangit)**


	2. And The Facade Begins

**Main characters in this! Hoorah! One was planned, the second one was not, and just sort of happened once I started finishing this. Anyway, I'm really enjoying writing this already, and hopefully the anticipation of reaching the fun parts I have planned will keep me motivated!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I spent the next few days recovering. Because of the serum, I had trouble keeping food down the first couple of times, but I eventually adjusted. The dishes here were a bit less traditional here than they were back home in Canada, but there were definitely things I had seen before, like rice bowls and curry.

Adjusting to this "night clime" was extremely hard. The first time I went back to sleep, I slept for almost 13 hours before Keegan woke me up to give me food. It was super disorienting, and I quickly found myself longing for natural light. The glowing petals of what Keegan called "lumen trees" were beautiful, don't get me wrong, but they couldn't bring real warmth and light like the sun could. It was a bit depressing.

Keegan was a very withdrawn person. He wasn't necessarily rude - after all, he had saved my life, and was doing his best to be patient with me throughout all of this. However, he wasn't one for talking about himself. Even when I tried getting more information about his time with Elias, he was quick to change the subject.

"So, Keegan," I said one of these times as the two of us sat by the window. I was still picking at the mess of vegetables and unidentifiable meat on the plate in front of me. He had long since finished. "You said there were others, right? Others like you and me?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Yes. There were two."

"Huh..." I knew the sudden tension he was radiating was meant to be taken as a warning to back off, but I pushed past it. "Do you think you could maybe tell me about them?"

Surprisingly, though, he let out a defeated sigh. "There were two girls - Stacy, and Blair. Stacy showed up about a year after I did, after Elias decided he wasn't having much success. She...didn't last long."

I swallowed a chunk of carrot a bit too forcefully, but I kept my coughing to a minimum. The lump stayed in my throat as I stared at him with wide, watering eyes.

"A-And Blair?"

He was quiet for a long, tense moment. Something shifted in his expression, something dark and tragic, and I knew without him saying anything that he'd cared about Blair. He'd cared about her a lot.

"Blair and I spent a lot of time together in that hellhole. Eventually, I ended up escaping, and she..." He trailed off, eyes clouding over at the memory.

"Keegan?"

"She's gone," he finished harshly. "That's all that matters. Blair is gone."

He pushed away from the table, muttering something about fresh towels, and was gone from the room before I could say anything else.

I didn't ask again after that.

During the next few days, Keegan did his best to teach me things about Rieze Maxia. Things like how the currency worked, or the names of cities in Rashugal. Basic, common knowledge that was going to help me not stick out like a sore thumb. He even felt it necessary, apparently, to play fashion police and get me a new outfit.

"What is this?" I asked when he tossed the bundle of clothes on the bed. It had been about four days since I'd woken up in the hotel room, and I hadn't left it since. I was beginning to get a bit...well, bored, to say the least.

"You can't walk around in what you're wearing," he said, as if it should be obvious. "I got you something to help you blend in a little more."

I started unfolding the clothes. The outfit consisted of a plain, brown dress that laced up the front and had no sleeves. Aside from that, there was a white button-up shirt, and a pair of red tights. Definitely not the kind of outfit I'd be able to pull out of my regular wardrobe.

"It probably looks strange to you," he said. "But it's pretty average as far as clothing here goes. You won't stick out, anyway."

"Says the guy in a trench coat," I mumbled, but I knew he was probably right. He'd been able to blend in for ten years here without a problem, and he was as much of an Earthling as I was. Listening to him was my best option right now.

He rolled his eyes. "Just hurry up and get dressed."

"Are we going somewhere?" I asked excitedly. I would've worn a chicken suit if it meant getting out of this damn hotel room. Well...maybe not. But still.

"Have you forgotten?" He raised an eyebrow and motioned towards the bag full of schoolbooks. "Today is your first day of class."

I froze, immediately bringing my hand up to count the days off on my fingers. He'd said I would start class in five days, and it had been...

"One..two...three..."

"It's been five days," Keegan confirmed. "I know it's hard to tell with this damn spirit clime, but it has. I can't wait around here any longer or someone is going figure out we're here."

I felt panic flare up in my stomach. I wasn't ready for this. I knew the whole point of Keegan spending these past few days teaching me about Rieze Maxia was so that I wouldn't have any problems after he was gone, but now that he was actually leaving...

"Hey." He knelt down in front of the bed so that we were eye-level. His voice took on a gentleness that I'd only heard that first day in the hotel room, and it was enough to ease my panic a bit. "I know it's scary, but it's only for a little while. I'm going to find a spirit fossil and get you home, okay?"

I stared at him for a long time without saying anything. Then, a thought occurred to me.

"Hey, you've been stuck here for ten years, right? That means you'll be able to go home too!"

His facial expression didn't change. I had thought he'd be just as excited as I was at the thought, that he'd conjure up an ecstatic smile to match mine. But he didn't. His lips barely quirked upwards before he stood once more.

"Yeah. I will, huh?" He nodded towards the door. "I'll wait outside until you're finished changing." And then he didn't offer another word – he just abruptly turned and walked out the door.

I stared after him, my smile quickly dissolving into a frown. What the hell? What was that all about?

I shrugged. Whatever. I still didn't really know Keegan that well, so I couldn't tell if that had been out of character or not. Instead of worrying, I peeled off my old Earth clothes and left them in a pile on the floor. Then, I quickly put the outfit on – first the tights, then the white shirt, then the dress over top of it all. I laced up the front to the best of my ability – which probably was still pretty shitty considering I tied knots at an elementary school level – and then headed into the bathroom to assess the damage in the mirror.

I was already severely missing my hair straightener. I'd recently cut my brown hair to my shoulders, and since then I'd been wearing it in my natural curls a lot more frequently, but I missed being able to shape bits and pieces the way I wanted. I fiddled with my black nose ring, wondering if piercings were commonplace in Rieze Maxia. My eyes were still a little bloodshot, causing the green in them to really stand out more than normal. I was paler than usual, my freckles having faded into almost complete non-existence, and my cheeks, normally on the fuller side, had thinned considerably.

I was alive, but I barely looked it.

The outfit looked good, like something straight out of a fantasy novel. I was secretly a little bit excited that I was going to get to wear this around the city and not be gawked at. It was just so _fun. _

Right. Well, there wasn't really much else to do to get ready. I suppose it was a blessing, not having any luxuries like hair products or makeup with me. It cut my getting ready time down to about ten minutes, if even that. I left the bathroom and called out for Keegan to come back in.

"Do they fit okay?"

I did a short little twirl. "I think so. What about shoes?"

"Your own boots should be fine," he said. "Besides, I wasn't about to go guessing your shoe size."

"Fair enough," I said with a laugh. I picked my clothes off the floor and set them on the table. I had no idea what had become of my purse. It was probably back in Fort Gandala, which really sucked. Aside from these clothes, it and its contents were all I had left to remind me of Earth. My phone, my lip balm, my wallet...all of it, gone.

"Now then, a couple of last minute preparations."

I snapped out of my daze and tuned in to what Keegan was saying. It was probably important. It usually was.

"This is your ID card," he said, handing me the card. "I'm not sure how far into their pocket Exodus has the king, so try to avoid any situations where you'd have to show it to guards. It's mostly for school-related stuff."

"A-Alright." I tucked it into the front pocket of my new school bag.

"Next, I want you to have this." He held out a pendant, which consisted of a green emerald, encased in a swirl of gold. "Many merchants and sailors recognize it as my symbol of business, and if you keep it in sight on your person then–"

"Isn't this the Kokiri Emerald from Legend of Zelda?" I asked him, fighting back a laugh. I gave him an incredulous stare.

He paused, and I could have sworn he blushed a little. "Oh, uh, yeah. It's been so long that I tend to forget I ripped it off."

"It's awesome, Keegan. Thanks." Giggling, I put the necklace on and gave him a smile. "It'll be something to remind me of home."

He gave a small sort of shrug and continued speaking, but I didn't miss his lips twitch at the corners.

"Anyway, yeah. If you're in need of buying anything or, for whatever unfortunate reason, leaving the city by boat, then that should make things a lot easier for you." Finally, he plopped a burlap sack that was filled with coins into my hand. "You already have some in your bag, but just in case, here's more than enough gald for food or whatever else you might need."

"This feels like a lot," I said, weighing it in my palm. "Holy crap, Keegan, you must be rich."

"Yeah," he said, "I'm a regular Bill Gates." He paused, giving me a serious look. "Please tell me that's still a relevant reference."

"Are you joking? How long do you think you've been gone for?" I rolled my eyes, storing the gald in the bag. I wasn't too sure how safe it would be to carry around such a large amount of money, especially if I was going to be alone most of the time, but I didn't question it, which was probably going to come back to bite me in the ass later.

Keegan gave the room a final look before turning back to me. "Well? Are you ready?"

"I guess I have to be, huh?" I said, forcing a smile. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, as they did before going to any unfamiliar place alone, but there were considerably more this time, for good reason.

I followed Keegan out of the room, and he handed me the room key after locking the door behind us. Our room was on the fourth floor of the hotel, so we took a short ride in a surprisingly sleek elevator before exiting into the main lobby. A few people milled about, and the receptionist gave Keegan a smile as we walked past and out the front door.

I let out an awed whistle as soon as we were out into the fresh air. Watching the city from a window was one thing, but staring up at the huge trees towering above us was amazing. I held my hand out and caught a piece of pollen from the lumen trees, holding it up to my face to marvel at it.

"Keep the gawking to a minimum," Keegan said under his breath. He began walking and I hurried to follow him, dreading getting lost in a place like this.

"I'm technically a tourist, right? A little gawking should be normal."

"I guess."

I looked up at the sky. While I did take night classes back home, this was a bit different considering it was seven in the morning. I made sure to take note of specific buildings and street posts around us so that I'd actually be able to find my way back to the hotel on my own.

Soon enough, we'd reached the medical school. It was especially huge, the majority of the walls covered in windows emitting brilliant gold light. Lush foliage spilled from the tops of the several trees it had been made from, cementing the fact in my mind that this really was a city carved into a forest.

"Wow," I breathed, gazing up at it. "I'm starting to believe this whole spirit channelling thing, I think."

"You'll want to find the Student Services building," Keegan was saying, clearly having ignored what I said. He pointed to a door a little ways away. "Show your ID to the receptionist, and she'll give you your schedule. Other than that, you shouldn't have too much trouble today."

I turned towards him. The butterflies seemed to have merged together to form something huge and angry, like a dinosaur or a tiger or something. I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Don't look so nervous," he said, looking down at me. "You'll be fine on your own. I know it. I wouldn't leave you alone if I thought otherwise."

"I-I know." I hesitated for a moment, debating on what I wanted to do, before throwing my arms around him and squeezing tightly. "Thanks, Keegan. For everything."

"Don't thank me," he said with a chuckle. He pulled away and, much to my annoyance, ruffled my hair. "Just stay alive."

"Thanks Dad," I said with a scowl. A long silence followed, filled with unspoken words, and then Keegan simply gave me a nod.

"I'll keep in touch," he said, and then he turned and headed back into the city, vanishing into the morning crowd. I felt a pang in my chest. He really wasn't much company at all, but he was company. A friend. I was going to miss him.

I let out a long, shaky breath. Okay. I could do this. Maybe I could find some cute guy to show me around and help me study. If I got really lucky, maybe I would only get lost once. Twice, max.

The doors to the Student Services building opened into a main lobby that was quite spacious. Cushioned benches circled around beautiful plant arrangements, and a counter was set up in one corner selling food to hungry students. Bulletin boards lined the walls, and students frantically went to and fro, checking announcements and talking about upcoming assignments.

It all looked so...normal. If I could ignore the glowing trees that gave off the room's main source of light, I could almost imagine I was attending school back home, and that my situation was completely safe.

Almost, that is.

I did my best to smile at people as I made my way to the reception desk (although, most of them were too absorbed in their business to notice anyway). There were several women helping troubled students and marking things down in important-looking folders, and the one I approached wore a nametag that said "Marilyn Cornish, Student Services."

"Hi."

She continued scribbling away for several more moments before looking up and giving me a smile. "Hi there, my name is Marilyn. How can I help you today?"

"Um, my name is Maggie," I told her, handing her the ID card. My last name was listed as "Gamble", and I could only assume that had to be Keegan's last name, or at least, a fake one. "I'm here to pick up my class schedule?"

She took the card and examined it closely. "Ah, yes. You're the exchange student from Sharilton, aren't you?" More writing. "I must say, we've never done an exchange program before. You certainly are a first."

"Oh, really?" I bit back a bitter smile. _How funny, _I felt like saying. _A lot of this is a first for me, too._

"Anyway, here is your schedule." She highlighted several things on a sheet of paper before handing it to me. "Your first class is Human Anatomy, and you'll find it by taking the elevator down that hallway, to the third floor. The doorplate should say 'Lecture Hall 3A'."

"Right. Thank you so much," I said, but she'd already gone back to writing in her folder. I turned towards the hallway she'd described and started on my way.

Since it was close to the beginning of class, the hall was pretty crowded. I pushed my way through and found an elevator, which was surprisingly empty. I searched the walls for the floor buttons, but all I could find was a flat, blank screen. I tried tapping on it and swiping my fingers across it, but nothing I tried seemed to make it activate.

Great. I was expected to attend a medical school and I couldn't even work a goddamn elevator? This was going perfectly already.

"You have to let it scan your hand."

I jumped. I hadn't noticed anyone else enter the elevator, but sure enough, a boy who looked quite a few years younger than me stood there, looking a bit awkward. It wasn't a wonder I hadn't noticed him enter – he seemed a bit reserved, with straight, black hair in need of a small trim, and an outfit of plain, white clothes.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"Here." He reached past me and placed his palm flat across the screen. It flickered to life, a cool blue light washing over his hand. When he pulled it away, a menu with a list of floor numbers was displayed on the screen. He turned to me, giving a polite smile. "What floor?"

"Um, three." I told him, my cheeks burning. I felt like a total idiot, which was a common occurrence for me, but definitely not to this extent.

"Oh, me too." He pressed the number, and the elevator doors slid shut.

I awkwardly stared down at my feet. This was hopeless. If I couldn't even figure out how to work an elevator, how was I supposed to fit in among a group of genius medical students? Keegan was an idiot.

"So, you must be that exchange student from Sharilton, right?"

His question caught me off guard. Great, did everyone in Fennmont know about me? How the hell was this considered blending in? I decided to try and tackle the problem with a joke.

"Yeah, that's me," I said hesitantly. "How did you know? Has my bad reputation caught up with me already?"

"Of course not!" he said quickly, but his nervousness quickly dissolved into a laugh when he saw my barely hidden smile and realized I was kidding. "I just...well, the elevators here are a little high-tech, you know? Not really something you'd see in Sharilton, I'd imagine. Most of us here at the school are used to them by now, so it wasn't hard to figure out."

"That makes sense," I said, feeling a little better. "S-Sorry, I just don't really handle attention well. I was worried my being here was some kind of big gossip."

He waved a dismissive hand. "Nah. I only really know because I overheard Professor Haus mention it today. It's nothing to worry about."

_Thank God,_ I thought, feeling relief flood through me. I didn't know about here in Rieze Maxia, but back home on Earth being an exchange student in university was a little uncommon if you weren't exchanging to a foreign country, especially considering I was supposed to be an arts student, not a medical student. If this was the only person who knew so far, then laying low was working out well.

The elevator finally stopped on the third floor, and we both stepped out.

"Uh, I'm Jude, by the way," he said, holding out a hand to me.

"Maggie." I shook his hand, feeling slightly awkward about it. This kid looked like a freshman in high school, but he seemed so...mature. A lot more mature than me, anyway. It made me feel even more inadequate than I did to begin with. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Did you need help finding your class?"

I looked down at my schedule. "Uh, I need to find...Lecture Hall 3A."

His face lit up a bit. "Oh, that's where I'm headed. Let's go."

I felt my stomach settle a bit and followed him down the hallway until we reached the room. It was small, as far as most lecture halls back home went, but still spacious enough to hold about fifty students. I followed Jude to a couple of empty seats, silently thinking once more about how normal everyone looked.

"So, what kind of program are you taking?" Jude asked me once we were seated. "If you attend the Academy of Arts, why are you being exchanged to Talim Medical School?"

"Uh..." _That's a really good question, Jude. _I frantically searched my brain for some kind of response. "It's this...um, sociology experiment."

I thought for sure he was going to call me out on my bullshit, but it only took about two seconds for his eyebrows to lift in curiosity.

"Really? That sounds interesting. What's it about?"

"It's like a...an adaptability experiment." I paused briefly to listen back to that in my head. Yeah, sure. That sounded like the kind of dumb assignment my first-year professor would have assigned us. "He wants us to become...immersed in unfamiliar environments, so that we can, uh, gain experience in adapting to new situations."

Jude mulled this over, and I felt like slapping myself in the face. I wondered to myself if my story sounded as completely fake to him as it did to me.

"That's pretty impressive."

I let out a breath, relieved.

"So, you aren't a med student then?"

"Not even a little," I admitted sheepishly. "But I mean, that's the whole point of the experiment, right?"

"Exactly," he agreed with a smile. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

I let the silence drag out for a moment, tapping a pencil I'd pulled out of my bag against my chin. "So, um, look. It's cool if you don't want to, but...well, I don't really know anyone here, and I don't know the city that well. Would you be able to maybe, you know...give me a bit of a tour? Just so I don't get lost on my own."

"I don't have another class until tonight," he replied. "Are you free after class?"

I took a quick look at my schedule. The week was split into days that had names I was unfamiliar with, but, thankfully, still with seven days. I made a mental note to adjust the names to help me read it better, and then focused back to Jude's question. So, right now was seven in the morning...my next class didn't start until three.

"I think so," I told him happily. "But I mean, like, don't feel like you have to, or anything. Being an actual medical student and all, you probably have to study for tests and stuff, right?"

He shook his head. "I don't mind. I was alone when I came here, too, so...I understand."

After that, the professor started teaching the class, so there really wasn't much chance to talk. Still, the tension that was sitting in my gut like a cement block was beginning to lessen. I was still a nervous wreck, but Jude seemed like a nice enough kid. Having at least one friend here was going to make things a lot easier.

After a long class spent paying more attention to adjusting my schedule than the professor's lecture, Jude and I were walking through the streets of Fennmont. I listened avidly as Jude explained all of the major landmarks and businesses, doing my best to take a mental note of all of it. He showed me the easiest path to take to get from the hotel to the school, and pointed out the shopping centre, a few of his favourite restaurants, and the seahaven (which was basically a fancy word for a port, I think).

"I'm sorry if this is really rude," I began. We were sitting in the main plaza, and my eyes were trained on the beautiful fountain in the middle as I tried to delicately phrase this question. It was in the shape of a lotus flower floating on a pond. "But, you kind of look...young, to be in university. How...how old are you exactly?"

"I'm 15," he said, laughing at my discomfort. "It's fine. I got early acceptance a few years ago for showing promising results on my entrance exam."

"Wow," I said, genuinely impressed and also a tiny bit relieved. "Sorry, I just thought maybe you looked a lot younger than you were and might have been one of those people who's super touchy about that kind of thing."

Jude laughed again, some of his shyness beginning to melt away at this point. "What about you? What are your plans for the future?"

"Well, I'm 21, and I'm going to be graduating soon," I replied, fiddling with the hem of my dress. I spoke carefully, not wanting to say something out of place. "I wanna be a writer, and...yeah. That's about it, really." Talking about my future plans was never fun for me, mostly because I often had to tell the exact same story to literally every single distant family member and random customer at work that I spoke to. Besides that, I didn't want to give too many details that would come back to bite me down the road.

"In that case, this will be quite the experience to write about," he said good-naturedly.

I forced a laugh. _Oh Jude, if only you knew._

We spoke for a while longer, and Jude told me a bit about himself. His parents owned a clinic in an island town called Leronde, which probably explained why he was going to medical school. I, in turn, told him super vague details about my own life. My mom sold medicine. My dad was a bartender. Totally general things that could be applied to Earth _or _Rieze Maxia.

By the time it was time for my next class, I felt a lot better. Despite being at that teenager age that I usually despised dealing with, Jude was actually very mature and I found it easy to talk to him. Doing this without Keegan around to talk about my _real_ problems with was going to be difficult, to say the least, but I wasn't as frightened as I'd been before. Like Keegan had told me, all I had to do was wait patiently and avoid being noticed by any guards.

* * *

The next few days passed by peacefully and uneventfully. In retrospect, maybe I should have realized that these few days were the calm before the inevitable shit storm that was to follow, but I was too busy worrying about keeping up appearances around Jude and anyone else that I managed to get suckered into speaking to. I really tried to avoid speaking to _anyone _more than necessary, but I was too polite not to, so it happened more than I probably would have liked.

During the past few days, I'd managed to find a clothing shop. I'd used the money Keegan had entrusted to me for "emergencies" and splurged on a few new dresses, just so I wouldn't be stuck wearing the same one everyday. I was currently wearing a pale blue one that buttoned up the front, over my regular boots and tights. It was still plain, but a lot prettier than the brown one I'd been walking around in.

It was sometime around midday, although, for as dark as it always was, it also could have been midnight. I'd already finished with my morning class, and Jude had important business to attend to, so I was sitting on a bench outside the hotel, absently highlighting random sentences from my textbook. It was a good thing actually doing well in class wasn't a requirement Keegan had given me, because there was no way I could be bothered to remember the entire glossary of medicinal herbs in Rieze Maxia. Stuff like that was why I became an arts student in the first place.

I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the water gently splash against the walkway beside me. It was hard to believe that some people just lived ordinary lives here, not even affected by how completely incredible this place was. I didn't think I was ever going to get sick of it, or cease to be amazed by its beauty.

I started doodling in the margins of my textbook. Let's see...it had been roughly eight days since I'd first woken up in that hotel room, possibly more than that since I'd actually left home. I'd been trying not to think too much about what was going on back home, but curiosity was a hard feeling to fight. Mostly, I was worried about my mother. She was protective enough as it was, and so with me being gone for over a week, she was probably sick with worry.

That thought was enough to make me tear up. At this point, I didn't really give a shit about myself. For the most part, I was relatively safe, and I was getting used to the idea of this whole "other world" business. But now, all I could think about was her crying herself to sleep, probably fearing the worst – that I'd been killed or abducted or something equally awful. I hated that I was putting her through that. She didn't deserve it. I wished more than anything that I could just let her know I was okay.

"Shit," I mumbled, wiping at the stray tears that had managed to escape. _No, _I mentally chastised myself. This was bad. I wasn't supposed to think about home, because that led to crying, and I was trying to stay strong. Sure, I'd cried myself to sleep the first few nights, but I got over it. If I didn't think too deeply about this awful situation, then it was easy to pretend I was just visiting a foreign city.

You know, one with giant tree buildings and an eternal night. Totally normal stuff.

I slammed the textbook shut, placing it on the bench beside me so I could rise and stretch my legs. Right. I had nothing else to do for the rest of the night, so I decided I might as well take a look around and do a little shopping. I gathered my textbook under my arm, piling a couple of notebooks on top of it. I balanced them under the one arm while I tried to fiddle with the strap on my bag, taking a few, completely idiotic steps as I did so.

Naturally, I managed to slam right into someone, and the books _and_ bag fell to the ground, the contents of my bag spilling out all over the place.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly, crouching down to retrieve everything.

"Not a problem," a voice said, and the man I'd bumped into crouched down as well to help me.

I glanced up at him and smiled apologetically. He was very attractive, with brown hair that was, for the most part, swept back out of his face. He flicked a stray lock of hair out of his face and dropped one of his brown eyes into a quick wink.

My cheeks reddened, because I was a dumb girl and literally _any_ sort of attention from a cute guy caused my face to heat up horribly. I ducked my head and gathered the rest of my things before standing up.

"I really should watch where I'm going," I said, rolling my eyes and giving an embarrassed laugh.

"Really, don't worry about it..." he said again, pausing to shamelessly glance at the ID card he'd picked up from the ground. "Maggie. Is that your name?"

"Uh, yeah," I took the card from him. "I'm, um, a student at the medical school."

"O-ho, so beauty and brains, huh?" He smiled widely, and despite the fact that I was quickly realizing what a hotshot this guy was, I still took a moment to appreciate that it was a very charming smile. "The name's Alvin. Hopefully you didn't lose any of your belongings."

Cheeks still flaring from that stupid beauty and brains comment, I took a peek in my bag. "Nope, everything seems to be here. Sorry, again."

He shrugged. "You know, I wasn't really paying attention either. How about I make it up to you?"

My heart started fluttering a bit. Was this cute, clearly a little older guy asking me on a date? I was torn between being nervous as all hell and wanting to jump at the chance to say yes.

"You don't have to do that," I said, my fingers absently playing with a chunk of my hair.

He gestured across the plaza, towards an alcove that, as I'd quickly discovered, was filled with carts that were home to delicious fast food vendors. "C'mon. I'll buy you lunch. Unless you were on your way to meet a boyfriend?"

_This guy, I swear to God. _He must have gotten his kicks by flirting with easily embarrassed girls. Regardless, the thought of lunch was very tempting, a thought that was echoed by the slight growling of my stomach.

"I guess lunch would be okay," I told him, sliding my books into my schoolbag. I allowed him to lead the way across the plaza, and I silently took in the rest of his appearance as I walked slightly behind him. He had a gun holster at his hip, and a long sword strapped across his back. The sight of someone openly carrying weapons back home would be cause for alarm, but here I realized that it was pretty normal. The guy was dressed nicely, with a gorgeous brown jacket and a black scarf that looked like it was made out of some high quality material.

"You checking me out back there?" he called over his shoulder, his tone teasing.

I rolled my eyes, hopefully enough to distract from this stupid blush. "Mhm. Totally."

"Hey," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "I wouldn't be offended or anything if you were."

"Mhm." I made a face at him, but the smile tugging at my mouth was enough to let him know I wasn't too serious. I was used to getting openly hit on at work, but most of the time it came from creepy old men, so I was a bit more accepting of this.

We ended up getting a couple of bowls of soup. After sitting down beside him on a nearby bench, I started kind of mentally kicking myself in the face. What was I doing? Was accepting some random guy's offer to buy me lunch something I would normally do back home? Would Keegan skewer me if he found out? I'd made a promise to myself to try my best and avoid talking to people, but the minute a cute guy paid attention to me I broke it? It was unbelievably stupid of me, and I only fully realized that after I was seated on the bench, silence stretching between us as he began eating. The best thing to do would probably be just to eat my soup really quickly and head back to the hotel.

I popped the cover off the container and took a long swig of the broth. Another stupid decision on my part, really, because right away it felt like I had swallowed fire. I started choking, tears falling down my face.

"I guess I forgot to mention that's spicy curry soup," Alvin said, trying and failing to hold back a laugh at my misfortune.

I shook my head, reaching for the bottled water I'd thankfully bought as well. "Yeah. To be fair, though, I probably shouldn't have tried to chug the whole thing."

"Probably not," he agreed thoughtfully.

I continued eating my soup, slowly and carefully this time. I didn't say much, instead quietly observing my surroundings. It was something I'd made a habit out of without realizing since coming here. I was, understandably, a bit paranoid, so I was constantly keeping an eye out for anyone who looked suspicious. Besides that, I was also in an impossibly beautiful city, so it was nothing for me to sit for an hour and just stare at my surroundings.

But, most of all, I wasn't talking because I had no idea what I was supposed to say. Talking to Jude was easy, because he wasn't a cute guy I was worried about making a fool of myself in front of. Never mind that _this _guy probably looked at me the same way I saw Jude.

_"_So I noticed that your ID said Maggie Gamble," he finally spoke up once he'd finished his soup. "Any relation to the merchant, Gamble?"

_Gamble...right. Keegan. Judging by what he told about that pendent, he must be some sort of famous merchant. Best not to use his real first name._

"Yeah, actually," I said carefully. "He's uh...he's my older brother."

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Really? I didn't realize he was young enough to have a sister your age. You're, what, 14? 15?"

"I'm 21!" I said indignantly. "What, you'd really just hit on someone so young like that?"

"Of course not," he backpedalled, but he really didn't look all that ashamed. "Relax, I'm just messing with you."

"Mhm," I said again, making the same face as before. This guy was less of a gentleman and more of a shameless flirt, but hey. A free lunch was a free lunch. I finished off the rest of my soup and tossed the empty container into the trash bin beside me. "I should probably head back, soon. Being a medical student is harder than it looks."

"Gonna hit the books, huh?"

"Books, pillow–" I shrugged. "You know, whatever. I'll decide when I get there. This night clime still messes up my sleep schedule."

"You get used to it," he assured me. "Eventually, that is."

I laughed, then looked down at my feet. "Um, thanks for lunch! I still don't know many people here, so it's nice to meet another friendly face." _Even if you're a little _too _friendly._

He grinned. "Not a problem! Perhaps I'll see you around, hm?"

_Come on,_ I told myself. _Would that really be so bad? You can still lay low with two friends. That's not so bad. Allow yourself at least two._

"Maybe," I said with a short nod. I gave him a small wave before heading back across the plaza to the hotel.

* * *

A little while later, I headed back to the school to meet Jude. It was still early evening, so he decided we should take a walk down to the seahaven for a little bit and visit the merchants. Apparently, merchants from all over Rieze Maxia set up shop in busy ports like this, and you could usually find some pretty cool things if you were smart enough not to get scammed.

"So you seem to be settling in okay," said Jude while we browsed a stall that was selling pretty charms and bracelets. Now that he wasn't at school, he'd donned a long blue coat and changed out of his white uniform. "And you haven't gotten lost yet, so that's a plus."

I gave a tight-lipped smile, not about to mention the day that I took a wrong turn coming home from school and took an extra hour to get home.

"I think so," I said instead. I paused to look longingly at a silver bracelet dangling with white and blue gems. _Restraint. You don't need it. Save the billion dollars Keegan gave you for an emergency. "_I met someone else today, actually. This Alvin guy. We kind of like...slammed into each other, so he offered to buy me lunch."

Jude laughed. "Just like that huh?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "I know. He was a bit of a flirt, but nice enough. If anything, maybe I can keep mooching off of him for free meals!"

"You're terrible," Jude sighed, but my enthusiasm at being a freeloader was enough to coax another laugh out of him.

"Okay, I have to get away from this table," I finally said, backing away. "I'm going to end up blowing all of my money on one of these things. Wanna go?"

"Sure. I just have to make a quick stop at the lab to drop these reports off for Professor Haus." He pulled the papers in question out of his bag. "Did you want to come along?"

"I might as well," I replied, shrugging. "I don't have anything else going on."

The two of us made the trek back into the city, and I followed Jude's lead to the Research Lab. The further we walked, the heavier the feeling in my stomach became. Just to add to my list of idiotic accomplishments, I'd completely forgotten that this research lab was probably housing some of those Exodus guys. Meaning if the wrong person saw me and recognized who I was, I was screwed.

While the majority of Fennmont gave off warm, golden light, the lab was lit up with a cool blue colour, probably being lit by something more similar to electric or fluorescent lighting. A large pool of water surrounded either side of the bridge we walked on, the lab casting a perfect double in the reflection.

I paused halfway, on a circular opening that held a streetlight and a couple benches. There was no way I was getting anywhere near that lab.

"I'll just wait here," I said innocently, leaning against the railing.

Jude didn't question it. He nodded and continued on towards the entrance.

As soon as he was out of earshot, I let out a heavy sigh. I couldn't believe I'd almost made such a stupid mistake. I had to start being more careful if I didn't want to end up strapped to a lab bench again.

I watched from afar as Jude spoke with the guard at the entrance. From what I could tell, the guard didn't look too intent on letting him into the building, which was a bit reasonable, I thought. I probably wouldn't let some 15 year-old into a military research lab either.

I turned my attention back to where I stood, just in time to see an all-too familiar, willowy redhead walk past me. I clamped my mouth shut, cold fear freezing every muscle in my body. By the time I finally regained control of my own body, she'd already passed, having not even batted one of her long lashes at me.

I nearly collapsed against the railing, needing to grip on to it to keep myself steady. I turned out towards the water. My stomach felt like it was going to climb up my ribcage and leap out of my throat. _Shit. _What the hell was she doing here?

I peeked back at the entrance. Jude had stepped aside to let the girl speak with the guard. She twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger, looking all-too innocent as she probably sweet-talked the guard into letting her in. Sure enough, he stepped aside to allow her through, and she smiled sweetly at Jude before slipping inside.

Jude spoke with the guard for a couple more minutes before reluctantly handing him the papers and coming back over.

"That guard wouldn't even let me in to see him," Jude said. He looked annoyed, but he was doing his best to conceal it. "But that girl was able to waltz right through."

"I noticed." I cringed at how shaky my voice has suddenly become, so I forced a laugh to try and cover it up.

Jude noticed, the annoyance wiping from his face. "Hey, are you okay? You look really pale."

"Um, I'm fine," I lied. "I just feel kind of sick all of a sudden. Probably that spicy soup I had for lunch, heh."

"Do you need to sit down for a minute? I don't mind waiting."

I waved a dismissive hand. "God, no. I'll be fine, seriously. It's nice of you to offer, though."

"Uh..." Now he had a curious look on his face. He shook it off, though, and smiled at me. "If you say so. Are you okay to walk?"

"For sure," I replied. I put more effort into stabilizing my voice, and I think it was enough to convince him. We set off from the lab, and I offered one last nervous glance at the doors that girl had gone through.

Who the hell was she, anyway? Keegan hadn't mentioned anything about her, and if she was important enough for Elias to trust her with his dimension-ripping spyrix, I would have thought she'd be important enough for him to at least mention her. And then there was also her mysterious male companion who'd stabbed a needle in my neck. I had no idea what he looked or sounded like besides being tall, which didn't really narrow the possibilities down. That guy could've been _anyone_.

_Shit,_ I mentally cursed. _What the hell am I supposed to do now? If she's here, then she might know that I am too. What if Keegan's plan doesn't even work, and all it accomplishes is leaving me completely vulnerable to kidnapping?_

"...good?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my inward rant to find Jude looking expectantly at me. "Sorry, what?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "I asked if you wanted to grab something to eat."

"Uh, sure." I said that, but something told me I wasn't going to be all that hungry.

* * *

***suspense***

**Our mysterious redhead is a character who, was definitely planned, but _definitely_ was not going to have as big of a role as she is clearly beginning to have.**

**Of course, I couldn't resist introducing Alvin a little earlier than originally planned. He's one character I'm going to have so much fun writing, and I'm probably going to restrain myself from letting him hog all of my attention. Siiiiigh**

**I love reviews (who doesn't though, really) so feel free to let me know what you think so far! :)**

**Next time: Things continue to go downhill fast. Also, a boat ride.**


	3. Bon Voyage!

**Things start to get rolling in this chapter a little bit! Slowly but surely, we're moving into the actual plot. It felt a little rushed at a couple of parts, but for the most part I'm happy with it.**

**Anyway, I don't really have too much to ramble about this time, so enjoy!**

* * *

"Wait, you don't know how to use spirit artes?"

I cringed. Jude, at the very least, had the decency to keep his voice down, but it was still loud enough in the crowded lobby of the Student Services building to make me paranoid. We were seated on one of the many benches, sandwiches in hand. He'd asked me something about if I'd had any spirit channelling-related incidents that day, to which I'd told him that, "No, actually, but I've never really been able to do it anyway."

And now, here I was, regretting I'd even opened my mouth in the first place.

"No," I said, looking around nervously. "But I mean, it's not really a big deal, is it? Is it really so weird?"

"It's not _completely _unheard of, but it is pretty uncommon." He looked thoughtful for a moment before reaching his hand out to my forehead.

I pulled back, out of his reach. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just going to check your mana lobe," he said, reaching out again.

"Stop that." I swatted his hand away and made a face. "I've had it checked before. It's fine, I just can't use it for some reason."

He stared at me for a good minute before letting out a sigh. "Well, if you say so. I was just curious, that's all. I've never met someone like you before."

"Oh, I'm special, alright," I muttered, absently picking at a hangnail. I was silent while I waited for my heartbeat to return to normal. Would he really have been able to tell I didn't have a mana lobe just by touching my forehead? What would he think of me if he knew? Would he think I was some kind of freak?

It was exactly the kind of attention I didn't want. I bit into my sandwich, silently praying that Keegan figured something out soon. I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to keep this act up.

"So why did you ask me that, anyway?" I finally said, hoping to move the subject away from myself. "About the spirit artes, I mean. Is something wrong?"

He shrugged. "No, not really. I've just heard that there have been a lot of people coming to the hospital for spirit-related injuries today. I don't really know much about it – but I guess I'll find out later."

"Why, what's happening later?" I asked curiously.

"Residency training with Professor Haus," he said, and I didn't miss the way his cheeks flushed slightly and his lips pulled into a proud smile. I didn't blame him for being proud of himself. He was at least four years younger than the rest of the students here, and he was already about to graduate and become Professor Haus's assistant. He was doing a lot better than most 15 year-olds.

"Sounds fun! So, what, you help him take care of patients?"

"Pretty much, yeah. It's hard work, but I consider it an honour to get to work with someone like him." He glanced up at the large clock on the wall, his eyes widening when he realized the time. "Oh, crap! I'm going to be late for class." He popped the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.

"You always seem to be in a hurry," I said amusedly. I stretched back on the bench, folding my hands behind my head.

"Yeah, well _one _of us isn't an arts student who doesn't even need to pass," he shot back with a good-natured laugh.

I gave him a look of false shock. "Jude! It hurts me to know you don't think I take my studies seriously.

"I'm very sorry." He rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock again. "Hopefully class doesn't run late today. I have residency training at one, and I'd hate to be late."

"Just remember to take a minute to breathe," I told him, and I was only half-kidding. I got the feeling that this kid didn't give himself much time to relax.

"I'll try," he said seriously, and then headed off to class, nearly knocking someone over as he rounded the corner.

I laughed and shook my head. Well, Jude was right about _one _thing. I definitely wasn't taking my studies very seriously. While I'd always considered myself smart when it came to school, during my last two years of high school I'd come to a stage in my life where I was only good at applying myself to things that were either necessary or interesting, and most of the stuff I was learning was neither.

Thankfully, Keegan had enrolled me in the minimum amount of classes, and so while Jude always seemed to be rushing to or from a class, I'd only had two classes this morning and I was finished for the day. If only university back home was this easy. I was going to be so spoiled if I ever went home.

I paused, feeling a pang in my chest. _When _I went home. When. Not "if". There was no uncertainty about it. I was going to get home. Keegan was going to help me out, I just knew it. I couldn't afford to have any doubts, because holding on to that determination was the only thing keeping me sane.

I forced a smile onto my face. I probably looked really dumb just sitting here, grinning to myself, but I didn't care. There was that whole saying about how if you make yourself smile, you'll actually start to feel happier, right? That was what I was doing. It worked a little, anyway.

I gathered up the rest of my things and piled them into my bag. It was just after 11 am, which left plenty of the day open to do whatever I wanted. Not that there really was much _to _do. I could only wander around the city so many times before my legs got sore from the walking. Things weren't too bad when Jude was free to hang out, but that wasn't really all that often. Other than that, I didn't have anyone else to talk to, other than that Alvin guy. But even so, I hadn't seen him since we'd met that afternoon a couple of days ago. This whole "limiting myself to two friends thing", while probably the smart thing to do, was a little bit boring.

Regardless, I headed outside to see what I could find. Maybe I could find a bookstore or a cafe or something and spend some time there. I could also always take a walk to the seahaven and stare longingly at jewellery that I'd never actually buy. So many thrilling options.

I ended up finding my way to a street that was lined with specialty shops and restaurants. The buildings were close together, and the foliage from the treetops seemed to intertwine above the street, making it even darker than usual. The light from the lumen trees made up for it, though, casting a golden glow over everything.

I did manage to find a bookstore, and while none of the titles or authors, obviously, looked familiar to me, I picked out a couple anyways and just kind of hoped that they didn't turn out to be duds. After that, I decided to head back to the plaza so I could sit outside the hotel and read.

Once I got there, I stood and looked around for a minute. If I was going to read for a couple of hours, which I planned to if these books were actually any good, then I wanted to be comfortable. I scanned the area for my options. There were benches, but they weren't exactly what I'd call comfortable. The ground wasn't a much better option. Hmm...

In the end, I managed to find a patio table that was set up outside the hotel. It wasn't exactly a new discovery – most days that it was nice outside I usually ate my meals out here. The chairs were a dark green metal, but with black cushions that made them the perfect option. I sat myself down at an empty table, cracked open the first of three books, and started reading.

* * *

I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep until I felt someone's hand gently rousing me awake. I groggily lifted my head from the now drool-stained page of my book and looked around. What the heck? When had I fallen asleep?

"Sorry to wake you. You looked pretty comfortable."

I glanced up. Jude was standing there, now changed into his travelling coat, with a barely hidden smile on his face.

"Jude?" Suddenly very self-conscious, I wiped the drool off of my face and ran a hand through my hair. "What time is it?"

"Uh, almost six," he replied. "How long do you think you've been sleeping for?"

I blew some air out past my lips. "God, I don't even know. A couple hours, at least."

Again, he got that weirdly curious look on his face that he tended to get sometimes after I said something. For the life of me, though, I couldn't figure out why, and I knew he was too polite to bring it up, probably. Did I have a weird accent, or something?

"Anyway," I went on, closing my book. "What about you? How did training go?"

"Unexpectedly," he said, after a brief pause to choose his wording. "Professor Haus had to go to the Laforte Research Lab again – apparently that night we went, they asked him to a part of some kind of special secret research for the government."

"Is that so?" My body went stiff. Secret government research? I definitely didn't like the sound of that, especially considering what Keegan had told me about Exodus working with Rashugal. Hopefully it wasn't anything to do with that.

Jude nodded. "Yeah, which is pretty cool and all, but that meant I had to take over for him. It was a lot of work."

"I'd imagine," I agreed. "You look pretty tired. Heading home for the day?"

"Not quite," he said, yawning to prove my point. "I actually have to go get Professor Haus from the lab. He's going to be awarded the Howe Prize!"

I didn't say anything right away, trying not to give him too blank of a stare. Of course, I had no sweet clue what that was, but judging by his enthusiasm, it was probably some kind of prestigious award. Maybe like the Nobel Prize?

"That's great!" I finally said happily, perhaps a second too late. "I bet you'll be next in line, huh?"

"I could only ever dream," he said with a forlorn sigh. "Anyway, I should probably get going. Maybe I'll see you later?"

I nodded, fighting back a yawn myself. "If I don't fall asleep again, that is."

We shared a good laugh at that, and then said our goodbyes as he hurried back across the plaza towards the lab. As soon as he was gone, my stomach let out a loud growl, and I decided that it was time to eat. It was a good thing Keegan had left me lots of money, because I knew for sure that back home I would never be able to afford eating out for pretty much every meal except for breakfast (because hell yes, the hotel served free breakfast to its guests).

I decided to just grab something quick from across the plaza and browsed the few vendors that were set up there while I ate. I slurped at the noodles slowly, my logic being that it would take up more time until I could go home and go to bed. However, it really only managed to kill about a half hour, and then I was bored once again. Hmm, what to do?

I sighed and headed over to a railing to stare down at the water. If all else failed, admiring the scenery was always an excellent time killer. I leaned against the railing, secretly spying on unsuspecting citizens roaming the streets across the river.

Time passed, and as it did, I began to get the unsettling feeling that someone was watching me. More specifically, that the guard standing watch a couple of meters away was watching me. It had started normally, with just a few spare glances in my direction every ten minutes or so. But soon enough, it had evolved to full-on staring.

_Shit,_ I thought in a panic. _Why is he just staring at me? Am I doing something wrong? I can't be seen by guards. I can't, I can't, I can't, I -_

"Excuse me, miss?"

_That's it. I'm going to throw up. I've been found out. I'm going to end up back in that lab and probably _die_ there, and -_

"Yes?" I replied, turning to flash him an innocent smile. I was amazed at how calm I was able to force my voice to sound, but my body had begun shaking already. These guards weren't just regular soldiers in military uniforms – this guy was wearing a full suit of metal armour, a tall spear grasped firmly in one hand. So, naturally, his appearance didn't help to calm my nerves.

"I'm sorry, but may I see some identification?"

_Shit. _"Um, of course! Do you mind if I ask what for?"

"It's probably nothing," he replied calmly, but I didn't miss the way his fingers tightened around the shaft of the spear. "We have a warrant out for a girl about your age, and I just need to confirm that it isn't you."

"O-Okay..." I began digging through my bag, fingers shaking so badly that they were barely able to work the buckle on it. I was doing my best not to start crying. A warrant for some girl my age, from the government? It had to be me. They really were looking for me. Keegan had told me to avoid having to do this, but what choice did I have? _Not _showing my ID would just make me look even more suspicious.

I managed to grab a hold of it and reluctantly handed it over. He took it, lifting the visor on his helmet to get a better look at it.

"Gamble, huh..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and read the contents. "Strange. Everything on your card matches this description except for the last name. Why might that be?"

My eyes widened, and I did my best to sound as innocent as possible. "Um, that's really weird. I swear, I have no idea. I'm just a student, not some kind of criminal."

"Hmph." He handed me back the ID card, but continued to eye the paper he held. "Even still, you look quite similar to the girl in the photo we were shown. To be safe, I'm going to have to take you in for questioning."

_Photo? _My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. How the hell did they have a photo of me?

But then, my whole body froze as I realized that yes, they probably did have a photo of me. While my phone's battery had probably died long before they'd figured out how to search it for photos, they had also taken my wallet, which held my _real _ID card, and had a photo of me on it.

And now I was being brought in for questioning. My fate was pretty much sealed. How the hell was I going to reason with a city guard? My eyes burned – the waterworks were about to start, if I didn't pass out first.

"Hey, Jill! There you are!"

At first, I ignored the slightly familiar voice, because who the hell was Jill? Definitely not me, and I had bigger things to worry about right now. However, when I felt someone's arm sling around my shoulders, I realized that this person was talking to me.

"Alvin?" I said, my voice tiny and afraid.

"I've been looking all over for you," he said happily, giving a greeting nod to the guard. "Maggie told me to find you and let you know there's been a mixup. You took her ID card by mistake."

"What?"

He winked down at me, so quickly I barely noticed it, and looked at the guard. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation while I was walking up. You're looking for a girl named Maggie, right?"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside," the guard said gruffly, but there was no missing the confusion in his face. "You're interfering with official military business."

"I realize that, really. But see, this isn't Maggie," said Alvin, and I was amazed at how calmly and smoothly he was able to just lie right to a guard's face. "This is my friend Jill. Like I said, there was some kind of mixup and their IDs got switched." He shrugged. "I don't know the whole story. Poor Jill here didn't even realize, did you?"

I blinked slowly, my head reeling. "Uh, yeah, that's right." I glanced down at the card in my hand and slapped a hand to my forehead, forcing out a laugh. "Wow, I'm dumb. I can't believe I didn't notice."

"Maggie is having dinner at the High Flag Tavern, if you wanted to go find her. If there's some kind of trouble, I'm sure she would be happy to know." Alvin smiled, giving my shoulders a squeeze. "As for my friend and I here, I was just meeting her so we could go grab a coffee. You wouldn't mind letting us hit the road, would you?"

The guard looked back and forth between the two of us for a long, agonizing minute. Finally, he sighed and tucked the paper back into his pocket.

"I suppose that's fine. I'm sorry for the confusion, miss. I'll go have a chat with your friend." And with that, he was off to the tavern where our imaginary friend was waiting, and I was able to breathe properly again.

"Holy shit," I breathed, pretty much collapsing against the railing. Alvin grabbed my arm to steady me, raising an eyebrow.

"You mind telling me what the hell I just got you out of?"

"Just...give me a minute to calm down, would you?" I said shakily. I wiped the layer of sweat off of my forehead and squeezed my eyes shut, doing my best not to start bawling right in front of him.

"You realize I might not be around next time to do that, right?" he pressed on, frowning. "Are you in some kind of trouble or something?"

"I _can't_–" I cut off, cringing as I realized I'd started to yell at him. I took a deep breath and started again. "I can't say, exactly. It's a really long story, but the short version is that I'm basically in a shit load of trouble if they actually bring me in. I'm supposed to be laying low, but now that guy is going to realize that I actually _am _Maggie and he's going to come back here and–"

"Shh. You need to calm down before you start hyperventilating."

_Too late for that, _I thought, as my breathing began to hitch and come out quickly and shallowly.

"_Hey."_ His tone was firm, and his hand gently touched the side of my face in an effort to calm me down. "Look, I don't know the whole story. I don't need to. But, if you're in some kind of trouble with the guards, then you should probably get out of town."

His gentle touch had begun to calm me down a _little, _but as soon as he mentioned leaving town I started panicking again.

_"What?!_ No. No, no, no, I can't do that! Where am I supposed to go? I'm supposed to wait here for Kee...for my brother to come back. I can't just take off on my own!"

"Well, where _is _this brother of yours, anyway?"

"In Auj Oule," I said quietly, still rational enough in my panic attack to not give too much information about Keegan away. "But I have no idea where."

"Okay..." He tapped on his chin, taking a moment to think. "Well, what about your parents? Where are you from?"

"Sharilton, but..." I trailed off. But what? Keegan had given me extra money specifically for this reason – an emergency. Leaving the city by boat hadn't been totally out of the question for him, but the thought was still daunting – no, scratch that. It was absolutely _terrifying._

"Sharilton, huh?" Alvin pondered that for a minute. "Well, it's still in Rashugal, but it's better than nothing, I guess. There's probably a boat leaving in the morning, I would imagine."

"I can't wait that long," I said, already digging in my bag for my coin purse. "Do you think there would be any ships sailing tonight?"

"Maybe a few," he began, "but–"

"Thank you so much, Alvin." I reached up and gave him a hug, squeezing as tight as I could. "You have no idea what you helped me out of. Hopefully we'll meet again someday."

"Uh, you're certainly welcome!" he said with a laugh. "But, don't you think–?"

I didn't give him a chance to finish. I took off across the plaza, throwing the doors open to the hotel and running as quickly as socially acceptable across the lobby. Who knew if I was going to end up in Sharilton or not? I'd worry about that later. Right now, all I was concerned with was packing my things and getting my ass to that seahaven.

* * *

By the time I'd made it to the seahaven, my lungs were on fire. I'd sprinted any opportunity I got, only slowing my pace whenever a guard came into view. Finally, though, I reached the seahaven, and only paused a brief moment to catch my breath before heading over to the dock.

A small booth was set up just before the loading area, and a young man in a uniform sat behind the counter, looking just about ready to be done for the day. He perked up slightly as I approached, painting on that fake customer service smile that I knew all too well.

"Um, hi," I said, glancing over my shoulder before continuing. "When is the next ship for Sharilton leaving?"

He looked a bit confused at my phrasing. "If you mean the Sapstrath Seahaven, then I'm sorry, but the next ship doesn't leave until the morning."

I resisted the urge to curse. Alvin had been right. There was no way I was waiting around in this city until the morning, though. I adjusted the strap on my knapsack and bit my lip, giving him a hopeful look.

"Are there _any_ ships leaving tonight?"

"There is a ship set to depart for the Aladhi Seahaven shortly," he said, after glancing down at a schedule sheet. "However, it's a cargo ship. It isn't exactly open to passengers."

"_Please,_" I said desperately. "It's really important that I leave as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry, but–"

It was then that I remembered the pendant Keegan had given me. I hastily pulled it out from under the collar of my dress and showed it to him.

"You know the merchant, Gamble, right?" I asked him. I had to resist the urge to use Keegan's first name. I wasn't entirely sure if that was common knowledge, and I didn't want to put him at any risk. "Well, he's my brother. He told me to show this if I needed to get on a ship."

His eyes widened. "Oh, wow! My apologies, miss. Mr. Gamble does a lot of business through the merchant ships here. I'm sure if you show that to the captain he'll make an exception for you." He pressed a button on the wall beside him, and the barrier blocking off entrance from the loading area lifted. "Have a safe voyage."

I had to stop myself from letting out pretty much the hugest sigh of relief in the history of relieved sighs. I hurried past him and over to the ship he had pointed to. It was pretty huge – bigger than any ship I had ever seen, anyway, which still wasn't really saying a lot. Sailors in white and blue uniforms hurried to and fro, no doubt preparing to set sail. I walked up to one of the ones who still stood on the dock, lifting crates and carrying them onto the ship.

"Um hi," I said awkwardly. "I was told I could speak to the captain?"

"I told him no passengers!" someone called from the ship. I glanced up to see a tall, pretty intimidating man standing at the head of the gangplank. He had snow-white hair, and a beard that reached past the base of his neck – a very stereotypical looking captain.

"I-I know," I began nervously. "But, well...my brother is the merchant, Gamble. You know him, right?"

He eyed me suspiciously. "Is that so? I wasn't aware Gamble had a sister."

"I have this necklace; it's his symbol."

"Come show me."

I eyed the gangplank nervously. I barely knew how to swim; boarding boats had always been something that made me nervous. However, ending up back in the hands of Exodus made me just a little bit more nervous, so I swallowed my fear and walked up to him.

Once on the ship, I held the necklace away from my neck so he could see it. He examined it closely before seeming satisfied and let out a booming laugh.

"Well, I'll be! You really are his sister, huh?" He clapped me on the back, hard enough to make me lose my balance. "Sorry for any hostility. You wanna sail with us?"

"Yes please." I gave him a smile, feeling much of the tension drain from my body. I wouldn't be completely at ease until the ship left the seahaven, but for now, it was a start.

"Very well. We set sail in about 20 minutes. Make yourself comfortable." He gave me a curt nod and walked away, leaving me alone.

I sighed heavily and leaned against the railing of the ship. For the time-being, adrenaline was keeping me from having a _total_ meltdown, but I knew that as soon as I was left alone with my own thoughts for longer than an hour, it was really going to sink in that the plan Keegan had set up for me had really fallen apart, and I was going into the rest of it blind.

Aladhi Seahaven. I had no idea where that was, but I was pretty sure it was in Auj Oule. Auj Oule could potentially have been ideal for me – maybe finding Keegan was the best option right now. The whole distraction method clearly hadn't worked, so I would probably be safer if I just met up with him again.

I listened to the sound of the ocean lapping against the dock, using it to calm my nerves. However, that peace was shattered when the sound of shouting could be heard from the dock. I immediately tensed, running to the end of the ship to get a better look at what was going on.

_Jude...? _My heart started pounding.

Sure enough, Jude was standing in the port, and with him was a girl I'd never seen before - tall and slim, with long, billowing blonde hair and a skimpy outfit. A group of guards was circling them, the leader of which was barking at them to stop where they were. People milling about the port gathered around in curiosity, and once they began murmuring to each other, I couldn't really make out what was being said.

_What the hell did you manage to get yourself into, Jude?_

"Trouble?" a sailor who had come to stand beside me asked.

I shrugged, biting my lip nervously. I sure hoped not.

"Jude Mathis," the leader said, and I turned my attention back to the scene. If I really strained, I could hear what was being said. From what I could tell, the leader sounded a bit sad. "I have...a warrant for your arrest. There's one for her too. I'm authorized to use force if necessary, but I don't want to hurt you."

"But wait, just hold on a minute!" Jude exclaimed desperately. "We may have done a little breaking-and-entering, but that hardly makes us public enemy number one!"

Breaking-and-entering? I remembered the night that the guard wouldn't let Jude into the lab. Had he snuck in with this girl? Had he seen something he wasn't supposed to? My mind was racing with possibilities. I wanted to do something to help, but from behind me I could hear the captain barking orders, and I knew we were about to set sail.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw the guards raise their weapons. The girl put a hand on her hip and said something to Jude.

"Mr. Eldin!" he pressed.

"I'm sorry," this "Mr. Eldin" said sadly, "but I'm afraid I have my orders."

The girl stepped forward, drawing her sword and taking on a fighting stance. Jude jumped back a bit, looking from her to Eldin.

"Then we'll do it the hard way," Eldin said with a sigh. He gestured to his men. "Go on, get her!"

One of them held out a staff, and a great ball of fire shot from the top of it. I bit back a scream as the girl smoothly dodged it, and Jude scrambled out of the way. It sailed right past them, into the hopefully vacant booth with a loud explosion that sent several dockworkers flying. The crowd around them quickly dispersed with frightened screams as ash and dust rained down on the dock.

Behind me, the ships horn sounded, loud and deep. I felt the deck jerk beneath me as we began to slowly get into motion. The girl suddenly turned, leaving Jude behind to rush up the length of the loading area and jump with amazing speed and grace onto the deck of the ship. Several sailors scrambled out of the way, looking shocked.

I stared at her in awe for a moment before remembering the real problem at hand.

"Shit, Jude," I hissed, looking back to the dock. It was slowly but surely beginning to get farther away, and the guards were moving in on him. I wanted to yell out to him, but what good would it have done? He was about to get arrested, and there wasn't anything I could do to help.

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. A blur of brown as a tall man in a very familiar coat broke through the group, dropping each soldier to the ground with only a couple of hits. Jude took a few steps back as the man took a pretty dramatic pause, then immediately reached up to adjust his scarf.

"Alvin, too?" What the hell was going on?

"You know those two?" I'd almost forgotten that sailor was still standing there. I simply nodded, keeping my eyes locked on the scene in front of me. A few sailors had gathered to speak to the girl, and I heard the captain's loud, booming voice as well. I drowned it out, for the time being.

Alvin slung his arm around Jude's shoulders, exchanging a few words before even more guards began flooding the seahaven. A brief look was exchanged between the two of them and then they started running, Jude lagging behind considerably. Alvin noticed this and fell back to scoop him up under his arm, jumping up on a pile of crates and continuing to run. Was he trying to get on the ship?

_Shit, hurry up! _I wanted to shout, but fear kept me silent.

He leapt up onto a 2×4 being moved by a crane, and when he reached the end, he jumped without hesitation, coming down to land on the deck of the ship with a hard thunk that nearly shook the boards beneath me.

I fought to keep my jaw from dropping. That should _not _have been possible. Did everyone in this world have super strength or something and Keegan had just neglected to tell me?

"What's going on here?!" the captain barked angrily, having had to scramble out of the way to avoid being landed on.

Alvin, who was still seated on the deck, glanced up at the captain and gave him a sheepish smile. "The military's doing drills or something on shore. We were just...getting out of their way."

"That ain't what it looked like," the captain said hotly.

"C'mon!" Alvin insisted cheerfully. "Do you really think a pipsqueak, a pretty girl, and a dashing man like me would be up to no good?" He turned to wink at the girl, giving a lazy two-finger salute.

The captain looked like he wanted to rip Alvin a new one, so I decided I should probably step in.

"I-It's okay!" I called out, hurrying over.

Jude, who was still recovering from the rough landing, glanced up in shock. "M-Maggie!?"

"I know them," I told the captain, giving Jude a small wave. "It's okay. You can trust them, I promise. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

"See? What did I tell you?" said Alvin. He slung an arm around my shoulder and muttered, "I see you found a ship to sail, huh?"

The captain still looked unimpressed, but he seemed to trust me enough, so with a final, wary look at the uninvited trio, he left us all alone.

Jude got to his feet, finally, and gave me an incredulous look. "What's going on? How come you're on this ship?"

"I could ask you the same question," I said, scowling at him. "What's this about almost being arrested? What the hell happened?"

"Is this a friend of yours, Jude?" the girl asked, finally walking over to join us. Now that she was up close, I was able to take in her appearance more closely. To make a long story short, she looked like something a horny guy created in a lab – tall, with a slim waist, huge boobs and mile-long legs, all barely covered by a mini skirt and tube top. Her eyes were pink, and while most of her hair was a dark blonde, the tips of it were dyed a lighter blonde, and one stray strand that seemed to defy gravity a sort of turquoise green.

"Yeah," said Jude, while I was busy gawking at the hottest woman I'd ever seen. "We go to school together. Maggie, this is Milla."

I nodded, giving her a short wave. "Uh, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Her voice was low and almost monotonous.

"So, is he your partner in crime?" Alvin asked me in a joking tone. "Part of the reason you wanted to skip town?"

"Definitely not," I replied. "Especially considering I didn't _break_ any laws." At this, I gave Jude a pointed look.

"Look, it's all just a big misunderstanding," Jude insisted. "Do you really think I'd purposely break the law?"

I sighed. "Of course not. That's why I'm really curious to find out what happened."

"That doesn't really matter right now," Alvin said casually, coming to stand between the two of us. "What matters is that everyone's safe, right?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," I said gratefully. "You're like some kind of hero to misunderstood youth."

"Wait, that's right!" Jude glanced between the two of us, looking confused. "You two seem to know each other."

"We're actually married," Alvin said with a very serious expression. So serious, in fact, that I knew gullible little Jude probably actually believed him. "It's been nearly a year, since the tragic incident that split us apart..."

Jude's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"No, you dummy," I said, rolling my eyes. I gave Alvin a hard shove. "This is that Alvin guy I told you about, as chance would have it."

Jude's face did an instant deadpan, one so perfect I almost wished I'd had a camera to capture it. "Huh. From what you've told me, that definitely makes sense."

"Huh," said Alvin, a jokingly bitter smile on his face. "For some weird reason, I don't get the impression he's heard _good _things about me."

"Where is this ship headed?" Milla asked suddenly, cutting across the group to stand in front of me and effectively leaving Alvin's musings unanswered.

"Um, the Aladhi Seahaven," I replied, not wanting to meet Jude's eyes. I knew exactly the kind of reaction he would have if he realized he was being spirited off to Auj Oule. Maybe if I was lucky, he wouldn't catch on. That could happen, right?

"Wait a second," he said in alarm. "Did you just say the _Aladhi_ Seahaven?"

"Um, yes." I reached out to grab him by the shoulders, looking him square in his amber, _very_ panic-stricken eyes. "Listen, Jude, _please _don't freak out. Everything is going to turn out fine, okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." He cast his eyes downward, looking more bummed out than I'd ever seen him.

Alvin clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there, kid."

I knew something like that from someone like Alvin really wasn't going to do much to cheer him up, so I grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, let's go for a walk. We can swap our horror stories. Sound fun?"

He forced a small smile. "Yeah. Okay."

The two of us left Milla and Alvin to mingle (the very thought made me laugh, considering Milla was clearly very serious and Alvin was...well, he was Alvin), and walked to the other end of the boat. Jude remained pretty quiet, staring sadly at the wooden planks beneath him. I figured it would be best for me to talk first.

"So...you're probably wondering why I was just randomly skipping town, huh?"

"Yeah, what happened?" he asked. The anxiety in his expression gave way to curiosity, at least a little bit, anyway. "Last time I saw you, you were passed out drooling on a book."

"Rude."

"Kidding. But seriously, did something bad happen?"

I started chewing on my lip. Sure, it was one thing _saying _that I was going to tell him what happened, but it also wasn't like I could just tell him the whole story. Jude was trustworthy and all, but I definitely wasn't about to drop the whole "otherworld" bomb on him. So where did I start?

"I had...a run in, with this guard," I began, choosing my words carefully. "They were looking for someone with the same name as me, and apparently she looks a lot like me."

"Really?" This was enough to catch his interest completely, although he mostly looked concerned. "So they tried to bring you in for questioning?"

I nodded. "Yeah. The only reason that didn't happen is because Alvin happened to show up and get me out of it. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't?" I shivered then, and whether it was from the cool sea breeze or the thought of ending up under Elias's "care" again, I couldn't say. "A-Anyway, Alvin made it pretty clear that it would probably just keep happening, so..." I trailed off, shrugging. The rest was pretty self-explanatory.

"That's an awful big coincidence though," said Jude. "Are you _sure _it isn't you they're after?"

_"Jude!" _I smacked his arm, faking anger. "What, you think I'm really some kind of criminal?

"That's not what I mean!" he said defensively. He let out a laugh when he realized I was joking. "It's just...after what I've seen tonight, it wouldn't surprise me if the military _was _up to something bad." At this, his face fell again, the small amount of cheer I'd managed to transfer to him snuffed out like a flame.

"Jude...what exactly happened?" I asked quietly. "And who is that girl?"

He didn't speak right away. When he did, it was in a quiet, troubled voice. "Like I said, her name is Milla. I caught her sneaking into the Research Lab and decided to follow her, since I was worried about...about Professor Haus." He took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "I ended up stumbling across this room with...all of these weird tubes, and...Professor Haus he...he was inside one of them."

"What?!" At that, I was instantly more alert, training wide eyes on him. "What do you mean? Is he okay?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head as if to block out the memory. "It wasn't just him. There were others, and these tubes...they were draining the mana out of their bodies. I watched him disintegrate right in front of me."

I clapped a hand over my mouth, my stomach churning. "But, that's..."

"Anyway," he said, and it was in a cold tone that suggested, again, that he was blocking the painful memory from his mind. "There was this weird girl in red there, and this huge, mana-sucking weapon...then Milla summoned the Four Great Spirits, and they were captured, a-and..."

"Calm down, Jude," I said gently, although it was hard to act calm myself when he was spewing out so much insane, troubling information. "So, some weird girl in red. Start with her, maybe?"

"O-Okay..." He took another deep breath to calm himself down. "When I got to the room with the...you know. When I got there, this girl in red attacked me. I have no idea who she was, and...she would have killed me, if Milla hadn't shown up."

"Holy shit, Jude..." I breathed. I ran my hand through my hair and looked out at the ocean. The emerald sky stretched out for miles, creating the most breathtaking view I'd ever seen. "Okay, and that weapon? Do you think that's what killed...well, you know."

"Mhm." He glanced over his shoulder towards Milla and Alvin. Despite my reassurances to the captain, the old man was currently over there grilling the two of them. Alvin no doubt had the charm cranked up to 11, but I doubted it was working on the old man. "I think Milla came to the lab to destroy it. She told me...well, she says that she's Maxwell."

"Maxwell?" I wracked my brain for the limited knowledge I had on this world. Maxwell...some kind of...lord of something...Lord of Spirits, maybe? "That's...the Lord of Spirits, right?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I found it hard to believe at first too, but then I saw her summon the Four. That machine thing...something she called a spyrix. It captured the Four, and now she's just like a regular human. She can barely swing a sword now."

I nodded thoughtfully, doing my best to look shocked. I mean, don't get me wrong, it _was_ a pretty intense story, but Jude had lost me with all this talk of summoning the Four.

"I can't believe that happened to you," I said, shaking my head. "And after all that, the military tried to arrest you? Didn't you explain what happened?"

"I tried to! They wouldn't listen to anything I had to say, which...leads me to believe that they're in on the whole thing..."

As he trailed off sadly, I cursed under my breath again. This whole thing was seriously messed up. Was the Rashugal military seriously so corrupt that they'd just hunt down a couple of kids who hadn't done anything wrong? It was such bullshit!

"Arghhhh, dammit!" I let out a frustrated groan, stretching my arms out and placing them on the railing. I took a moment to stare at the sea again to calm myself, and then forced a smile on my face. "Oh well! Look on the bright side."

Jude let out a humourless laugh. "There's a bright side?"

"Yep! Now we've both been screwed by the military. It gives us something in common, right?"

He stared at me with a blank expression for several long seconds before cracking up into real laughter. He shook his head, giving me a light punch "You're awful."

"Hey, it made you laugh, right?" I said cheerfully. Okay, so maybe it was the shittiest silver lining of all time, but at least I'd gotten Jude to crack a real smile. Something told me that with both of our lives quickly going up in flames, stupid jokes like that were the only thing that would keep us from going insane.

* * *

**And that's that! Auj Oule, here we come!**

**Don't worry, I haven't missed the fact that Jill is an actual character in the game. I'll touch on it next chapter, hehe**

**As fun as it was writing non-plot stuff in Fennmont, I'm excited that the party is coming together now, and even more excited to get to write Milla! Next chapter will probably expand a lot on the boat ride to Aladhi Seahaven, so I'll get the chance to get a feel for her character :)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you think so faaaaaaaaaaar**

**And have a nice day!**


	4. Ingesting Calories

**So this update is super long compared to the last few, holy crap! I also took a bit longer to write it, though, so it balances out, I think.**

**Hmm usually I like to babble on at the start of these things, but this time I surprisingly have nothing to say! I'll save it all for the end of the chapter I guess.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading so far! Enjoy :)**

* * *

It wasn't much later that Alvin and Milla came strolling over to us. Alvin had his arms outstretched, hands clasped behind his head as he loudly complained about the captain's constant badgering.

"That captain needs to lay off a bit," he said irritably. "Is he planning to grill us the entire voyage?"

"What do you expect?" said Milla. "We don't have any sort of identification."

"We also all watched your guys' spectacle on shore," I added helpfully once they reached us. "So naturally your excuses aren't going to hold up very well."

Alvin waved a dismissive hand before training his gaze on Jude. "What about you, kid? How are you making out?"

"Fine." He offered Alvin and Milla (mostly Milla) a half-assed smile before looking back out to sea. "I just...can't believe we're going to Auj Oule."

I couldn't even imagine what Jude was going through right now. While it was true that _I'd _been forced to flee Fennmont as well, I also hadn't been forced to abandon a medical school I'd worked for years to be admitted to, consequentially most likely ruining my future. It would be the equivalent of me breaking into Parliament and then fleeing the country to France or something. Overall, just not a good situation. He was bound to be pretty bummed no matter how many stupid jokes I threw his way.

I looked up at the sky. Slowly, but surely, the emerald stars were beginning to fade away in place of late evening sky, the sun slowly dipping low below the horizon and painting the ocean in gold hues.

"Look," said Alvin, nudging Jude. "We're leaving Fennmont's spirit clime."

"Finally!" I said happily, leaning back on the railing. "It feels like I haven't seen blue sky in forever."

Jude remained silent. It was pretty clear that he didn't need any more reminders that we were leaving Fennmont.

"Hey, uh, can I ask you something?" Jude said suddenly, turning to Alvin.

"Fire away."

"Why did you save us? What's in it for you?"

"Well, cash, of course." Alvin smirked, as though it should be the most obvious answer in the world.

Milla crossed her arms. "How does saving us make you money?"

"Simple," Alvin replied, and he began pacing around. "I figure you must be in serious trouble if the military's after you. Now that I've swung to your rescue and impressed you with my derring-do, I can charge you for my services."

I gaped at him. He'd just saved these two from being arrested, and now he was going to make them pay for it? What a swell, caring guy. I shook my head and gave him an incredulous look.

Jude shared my sentiments. "Charge us what?" he asked, patting down his pockets. "I'm nearly broke."

"Same goes for me, I'm afraid," said Milla. I gave her another once-over. Well, she certainly seemed to be travelling light. I didn't even see a bag – nothing more than the sword on her hip. Perhaps being the "Lord of Spirits" made you exempt from personal hygiene and paying for things?

"Seriously?" Alvin glanced between the two of them, frowning. "I take more than just cash, you know. Don't you have any precious metals? Jewels? Rich relatives about to croak?" He dropped a good-natured wink after this, but it was clear that he was seriously grasping for straws.

"Nothing on me," said Jude. His gaze found its new home on the ground once again. "Everything happened so fast. Most of my things are back in Fennmont."

Milla thought for a minute, but ended up shaking her head all the same. "I doubt I have anything that would sell for a high price either."

"Is this how you make a living?" I asked him. "Saving young folks from being arrested and then charging them money for it?"

"Yeah, what exactly do you do, Alvin?" Jude asked. "You look like a soldier, but...well, you sure don't act like one."

Alvin chuckled. "Heh! Well, you're on the right track kid – I'm a mercenary."

"So hired muscle, huh?" I said. All I could think about were those thugs people sent after you in Skyrim when you stole an apple or something from their house.

"Something like that," he said, giving me an amused look. "Regardless, it's a hell of a lot better than being a soldier. We don't have to follow orders. We set our own hours – and we help people! For a price, that is."

_How noble._

"Well, it would seem like you helped _us_ for free," said Milla, pretty much settling the fact that neither one of them were going to pay him.

"Ah well," he said forlornly. "It's a risk of the trade. Maybe I'll find some paying customers in Auj Oule, huh?"

"I'm sorry about that," said Jude, and I knew he genuinely felt bad.

"Well, you helped me too," I spoke up, digging through my bag. I pulled out one of the coin purses Keegan had given me and loosened the drawstring. "The least I can do is pay you a little extra to make up for it, right?"

His eyes widened. "O-ho! Check out moneybags over here. Get that from your big brother, did you?"

I ignored the sly dig, but only because he'd gotten my ass out of some pretty hot water. "Well, yeah. So, how much for saving three people?"

"M-Maggie!" Jude placed a hand on my arm before I could start digging through the pouch. "I can't let you do that. That's your gald – you hold on to it."

"Jude is right," said Milla. She offered me a small smile, and the action made her usually cold face look much more approachable. My heart did a little flutter. "While I appreciate the sentiment, I cannot accept it."

"You guys don't have to," I said, and then turned to Alvin. "Well, Alvin?"

"As much as I'd hate to do this, I agree." He slung an arm around my shoulder and grinned. "I wouldn't feel right taking so much money from such a pretty little lady like you."

I scowled, shrugging away from him. "Fine! I guess that's fine. But Jude–" I pointed a finger at him and made my voice stern. "Once we get to shore, you're going to let me buy you some new supplies, okay?"

"Okay," he said with a smile. My voice wasn't the least bit intimidating, but he knew I wouldn't give up until he said yes.

"Now that you mention it..." Alvin grabbed my wrist and started leading me away from Jude and Milla. "How about you and I discuss _your _payment?"

"Of course," I said. I held the pouch out to him. "Like I asked – how much?"

"I'll make you a deal," he said, dropping his voice as we passed by some sailors. "I'll only take 800 from you, but in exchange, I'd like some information."

"Information?" My stomach stirred a bit. I don't know why I'd bothered playing dumb – I knew exactly what kind of information he wanted. It was the kind that I'd _started_ to divulge, but only because I'd thought that we'd never meet again and I'd never be put in the situation where I'd have to finish.

"Yep."

I chewed on my lip, buying a few seconds of mental preparation while I stared at the churning ocean waves. There wasn't much point in trying to lie like I'd done with Jude – Alvin knew the guards were after me. He knew I was terrified of them – I just had to think of some reason _why._

"It's...a long story," I said sheepishly. Yeah, right. As if he was going to buy that.

"Is that so?" He hoisted himself up onto a pile of wooden crates and patted the space beside him. "Lucky for us, it should take until at least tomorrow afternoon to reach Auj Oule. Plenty of time for 'long stories'."

I groaned, reluctantly jumping up beside him. Hopefully halfway through this conversation the top of the crate would break and we would fall through into a bunch of smelly fish or something.

"It isn't just long," I said carefully. "It's...I don't know. I can't really tell you the full version."

"Aw, c'mon. What's wrong? Don't you trust this face?" Alvin flashed me one of those same dazzling smiles he'd used to convince me to let him buy me lunch, and despite all of my nerves it was enough to make my face flush.

"Oh, I don't know." I forced myself to laugh, hoping it would alleviate some of my nerves. "Look, it's not like I don't _want _to tell you – you saved me from those guards, so you seem pretty trustworthy. But..." _You probably wouldn't believe me, even if I did. I barely believe it myself. _"I...just can't explain it all. The details, I mean."

"Then just give me the gist of it," he suggested. He opened his bag and pulled out a couple of packaged potato salads, the kind with the plastic fork attached to the top. My stomach stirred, both with hunger and the complete familiarity of the sight. It was just...normal. Comforting. "Over a nice, lukewarm meal, huh? How about it?"

"You found my weakness," I said with a sigh, grabbing the package from his hand. "Okay? You're lucky that potato salad is in my top five favourite foods or this would not be happening right now."

"I'll keep that in mind for the future," he said cheerfully. Taking a bite of his own food and giving me an expectant look, he waved his hand for me to begin.

"Okay, uh...um...hm." I popped the cover off of my food and took a huge bite. Alvin was right – it was pretty lukewarm from sitting in his bag for God knows how long, but it was still delicious. It reminded me of home, filling me with a sense of comfort. "I...don't know how much Milla has told you about what happened in that lab, but basically, the Rashugal military is...well, it's not a good situation. They're...experimenting on people."

His eyebrows flew up. "Really? That's the first I've heard of that."

"Mhm. A-Anyway, I wasn't just...going to school in Fennmont. I-I was...hiding out. From the guards."

"I've figured that much out," he said, nodding thoughtfully. "The guards looking for a girl who looked just like you, with the same name? I'd say that's a little bit more than a coincidence." He sighed, stretching his legs out and taking another bite. "So then, what is it? You're an escaped test subject, then? They're looking to stop you from leaking what happened?"

Huh. That wasn't a total lie, was it? From what I'd gathered, the only way anyone would be able to tell I didn't have a mana lobe would be to use some kind of spirit channelling to check. As long as Alvin didn't do that, I was safe to latch on to the lead he'd given me. The thought of that needle plunging into my neck and sending fire through my veins was enough to cause a lump to form in my throat, and I knew it wouldn't be difficult to sell the story.

"Y-Yeah," I said quietly, staring down into my potato salad. "They...captured me, from Sharilton. I still don't really understand what happened, but I ended up in Fort Gandala, strapped to a table with some _freak_ poking needles into me." My voice had grown shaky. I was on the verge of tears, so I hastily sniffed them back and laughed. "S-Sorry. I really shouldn't be telling you all this."

"Don't worry about it," he assured me. He made a zippering motion across his lips and winked. "My lips are sealed. That was plenty enough payment for me."

I sighed a shaky sigh of relief and smiled tiredly at him. "Thank you, Alvin. But, um, can I ask you a question now?"

"Hm? Sure thing. What is it?"

"Who's this 'Jill' that I was impersonating?" My tired smile gave way to an innocent one as I tried to pick some of my own information out of him. "Some kind of girlfriend?"

He looked super surprised to hear me mention that name – and I mean _really _surprised, like he'd just seen a ghost or something. He quickly recovered though, smoothing his expression back into that same carefree smile of his.

"Who says it's anyone at all? Couldn't I have just thrown out a fake name?"

"Maybe. But that would have to be some quick thinking. Usually when I'm saving random girls from sleazy guys at the bar, I use the name of someone I actually know." When his expression gave him away, I dug an elbow into his side. "See? I knew it. So who? Your girlfriend? Or maybe an ex?"

"Something like that," he said cryptically. "A bit of an old flame, you know? It was just the first name that came to mind." He finished off his salad in one, huge, bite and then hopped up from the crate, stretching his arms out. He smirked. "Why, jealous?"

I blushed, turning my head away. "Obviously, Alvin. You caught me."

He shrugged. "Hey – you better watch the sarcasm. Some people tend to interpret it as the truth, you know."

"Well then those people are clearly not very smart," I said, jumping down as well. I started shovelling the rest of my meal into my mouth, hoping that maybe if I choked on it he would feel bad for me and stop teasing me. Regardless, I definitely hadn't missed the way he'd smoothly deflected my own teasing jab by sending it right back at me. This "Jill" girl was clearly a soft spot for him, but he was such a master at embarrassment that I was never even going to get to use it against him.

"Hey, guys."

_And cue Jude, clearing up the awkward moment._

"Hey, Jude," I said happily. "What's up?"

"Not much," he replied. I noticed he was holding a couple of pillows and some blankets. He held them out to us. "There are no beds they can spare us, but they did have extra bedding so we can set up camp on the deck."

"Cozy," Alvin commented, glancing up at the sky. "At least it doesn't look like it's calling for rain."

"Aw, well this will be fun," I said optimistically. "It'll be like a little slumber party, and we can tell ghost stories and play truth or dare–"

"Truth or dare with Milla," said Jude, and the very thought forced a laugh out of him. "That would be pretty interesting, I have to admit."

"Then let's get to it!" I looked up to the upper part of the deck (the, uh, port? The starboard? I'd never been good with parts of the boat) and saw that Jude and Milla had already set up their makeshift beds. Milla currently stood nearby, staring thoughtfully out to sea. The way she was so serious all the time struck me as odd. She looked around the same age as me, and yet she acted like some kind of sombre, old sage or something. Then again, Jude _had _told me she was apparently the "Lord of Spirits", so that probably wasn't too far off the mark.

Alvin clapped me on the back. "Well then, shall we go? We should try to set up close together, in case it gets cold tonight and you want to borrow my body heat."

"You're awful." I rolled my eyes and elbowed him lightly in the gut to distract from the stupid blush that had formed in my cheeks yet again. "You don't want to get too close to me anyway – I'm a squirmy sleeper."

I didn't offer much more room for banter. Instead, I took the bedding from Jude and headed over to our little campsite. I definitely wasn't looking forward to sleeping on hard, wooden planks, but it was just for one night. I'd never slept under the stars before, or next to an ocean, so at least the combination of the two would make for an exciting sleep.

I gave a quick hello to Milla and started unfolding the blankets. To my surprise, she actually left her spot to come stand by me, giving me a curious look.

"So, you and Jude are classmates?"

Milla was the type of person who, when she looked at you, it was with her full, undivided attention. Her stare was a bit arresting, and I found myself getting flustered trying to return it. Instead, I focused on setting my bed, cheeks burning.

"Uh, yeah! Well, I mean...not anymore, I guess."

She placed a hand on her chin. "Why is it that you were on this ship? Jude seemed surprised to see you."

"That's...a long story, I'm afraid." I laughed, running a hand through my hair. I'd only told Alvin because I sort of owed it to him. I wasn't about to recount the whole thing to this stranger. "Um, I basically got into some trouble with the guards as well – a total misunderstanding, but I didn't feel safe there anymore. Hopefully...I'll be able to find my brother once we reach the shore."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks."

Annnnnnnnd awkward silence. For me, it was awkward, anyway. For Milla, she had simply finished saying everything she wanted to say. I got the impression that she didn't really concern herself with how others viewed her, which was pretty admirable, really, but made for awkward conversation.

About 20 minutes later, we were all set up and tucked in to our cozy little beds. I had pretty much collapsed against the deck upon setting up my bed, feeling the day's events take a sudden, harsh toll on me. The ocean crashed gently against the hull of the ship, instantly soothing my frayed nerves. As I stared up at the starry sky, I mulled over the day's events in my mind, and thought about what was going to happen once we reached our destination.

Getting a hold of Keegan somehow was going to be my first objective. I took the pendant out of my dress and held in front of my face, watching the moonlight glint off of the emerald. This thing had gotten me aboard this ship, and pretty much every sailor I'd spoken with knew who "Gamble" was. Going by that logic, it wouldn't be too difficult to find someone to help me out, right?

I sighed softly, turning over on my side. I'd, for some reason, decided to replace the gorgeous view of the sparkling sky with the back of Jude's coat. I followed the pattern on it, hoping the motion would lull me to sleep before I started to think about the more frightening aspects of the day.

But, of course, it didn't. Left to myself like this, the reality of the situation was finally starting to sink in. Keegan's plan had failed, and now I was wandering blindly into Auj Oule. Was I just going to be stranded in the seahaven? There had to at least be an inn or something there, right?

I squeezed my eyes shut. Okay, deep breaths. I had to keep looking on the positive side. As long as I was away from Rashugal soldiers and not captured, that was what mattered. Anything else, I could deal with as it came at me – as long as I was alive, there was hope of returning home.

* * *

Alvin hadn't been too far off the mark – it had to be a little bit past noon when we reached Aladhi Seahaven the next day. The sky was tinted a pale pink colour, and I had one of the sailors explain to me that it was because of the spirit clime here. The sky was pink during the day, but, thankfully, still darkened to give way to stars and moonlight at night. Good. If I was going to be staying here for a little while, then I was glad I wouldn't have to put up with that eternal night, however pretty it might have been.

The four of us gave our thanks to the captain (well, mostly me, considering I was the only one who'd actually been given _permission_ to sail) and disembarked, coming to a pause just outside the gates of the loading area. Jude was looking around, a thoughtful frown on his face as he took in the sights of the seahaven.

I followed suit and gave the place a once-over. Layout-wise, it was pretty similar to the one back in Fennmont, with the exception of what was clearly an inn nestled into the tall, walled gates of the place. It was certainly lively, with many people crowded around the shop stalls and sitting on benches with their luggage.

"It's hard to believe we're in a whole different country," Jude finally spoke up, looking back at Alvin and me. "It feels just like home."

"This part of Auj Oule is hardly what I'd call exotic," Alvin said casually. "The further into the mainland you go, the more differences you'll probably start to notice."

Jude nodded, and that same, sad look I'd been noticing more and more crossed his face. However, this time he seemed to notice it on himself – he gave his head a shake and looked back across the port, towards a bulletin board.

"Hey, there's a map! Let me check it out for a bit." And with that, he'd rushed off to examine it, if only to give his mind something else to focus on other than his own misfortune.

Alvin shook his head, looking impressed. "Brave kid, the way he plays it cool."

"Decided to make the best of it, has he?" Milla commented. Her pink eyes focused curiously on him. "He's not as immature as he looks."

"Would it kill you to show a little concern?" Alvin said suddenly, and while his voice didn't drop the carefree tone, he _almost_ sounded a bit scolding. "You dragged him into this, right?"

"He insisted on helping me," she said simply. "I told him again and again to go home, but he wouldn't listen." She glanced away from Alvin, back to where Jude stood. "He's here of his own accord."

"That sounds like him," I agreed. "Helping people is his thing – he's a good kid."

Alvin took in our words before laughing and giving his head a shake. "I see. He believes he got himself into this mess, so now he has to put on a brave face."

She didn't reply, instead choosing to join Jude by the map.

"Either way, he's acting like an adult," Alvin continued under his breath.

"I get what you mean," I agreed. "Jude really is pretty mature. More mature than me, anyway."

"That can't be too hard! You're...what, 12? 13?"

I gave him a rough shove, scowling over my shoulder at him as I hurried to join Milla and Jude.

"North of here..." Milla was murmuring, trailing her finger along the map.

"What's up?" asked Alvin once he'd caught up as well. "You leaving now?"

"No..." She turned around to give Alvin a thoughtful look. "Alvin, you must be well-versed with a sword. Mercenaries like you must have some battle chops."

"Well, yeah, of course," he said proudly.

"Could you teach me how to use one?"

"Huh?" He blinked slowly, looking pretty confused. Not that I blamed him – after that impressive show back in Fennmont she'd given, it was hard to believe that someone like her needed sword training.

"I don't have the Four to back me up anymore," she clarified. "If I can't wield a sword, what's left?"

"The Four...?" Alvin trailed off, looking hopelessly between Jude and me. "Not sure I follow, but I'd be more than happy to teach you...if only you had some cash."

I rolled my eyes, pacing away from the group a bit to stare up at the sky. The inn was my first destination. From there, I would try to think up some kind of plan as to what to do next – perhaps write a letter and get it sent to Keegan somehow? Considering in a place like this, a quick text message or phone call was clearly out of the question.

"So you won't help?" Milla asked.

Alvin thought about it for a moment before coming to some kind of decision. "Here, why don't we make some moolah _while_ I train you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Jude, finally tearing his eyes away from the map.

"Well..." Alvin gave the seahaven a quick scan. "There's got to be some paying customers here in the seahaven, right? Let's take a look around and see if anyone has any problems that need to be taken care of. You know – gathering things, killing monsters – that sort of thing."

"Sounds good," said Jude, and he looked over at me. "What about you? Are you going to come with us?"

"Sounds a little too dangerous for me," I said hesitantly, having shrunk back at the mention of monsters. Keegan had explained to me that such a thing was a reality here – that taking a walk on a highroad between cities was a lot more dangerous here than it would be back home, but I still didn't plan on coming face to face with a monster unless absolutely necessary. "I'm...not really one for fighting. How about I get us some rooms at the inn, instead? Considering I'm pretty much the only one here who isn't broke."

"That would be very generous of you," said Milla. "Are you sure you don't mind doing that?"

I waved my hand. "My brother gave me more gald than I know what to do with while I was in Fennmont. It'll probably just sit in my bag forever if I don't put it to good use."

"Thanks, Maggie," said Jude, smiling at me. "Maybe when we get back I can teach you a few punches or something in return."

"That would be wise, if you are unable to fight," Milla agreed. "Given your current situation, being able to defend yourself is an important skill to have."

"Sounds great! T-Thanks." I gave both of them a grim smile. No, it certainly did not "sound great". Just the very thought of having to be in a situation where fighting would be necessary made me want to throw up. Still...I could see their point. Being stuck alone and defenceless really hadn't worked out so well for me the last time. Maybe I _should_ learn a few punches...buy a weapon from the merchants, pay Alvin to help me use it – anything to keep what almost happened in Fennmont from happening again.

"Oh, wait, Jude!" I said suddenly before they could walk away. I reached into my bag and handed him one of my coin purses. "Go get yourself whatever you want for supplies. You can just give me the rest back after."

"But–"

"Hey. What did I say?" I shoved his hands away from me and stepped back before he could try and give it back to me. Even when he tried to protest again, I gave him a short wave and turned away to start heading to the inn.

"We'll see you later then!" Alvin called, drowning out Jude's voice completely.

"Yeah, see ya!" I snickered to myself and kept walking.

The inn was, as I'd mentioned before, built into the wall of the seahaven gates. Approaching the door, I wasn't quite sure what to expect of the interior, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it was actually really nice, and well-lit with lamps and ceiling lights. The lobby contained a long, curving main desk, with a set of couches surrounding a table in one corner and a bar in the other, with tables and chairs lining the wall. The floor was a mix of hardwood and stone, and my boots made a light clicking sound as I approached the front desk.

"Welcome!" the man at the desk said kindly. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hi! Um, let me see...I'm going to need four rooms," I told him. "How much will that be?"

"That'll be 200 gald per room," he replied, and began rummaging beneath the desk, presumably for room keys.

"Perfect." I brought the second coin purse out of my bag and counted out the right amount, and in return he handed me four room keys.

"You'll find your room just down the hall, and then turn left," he told me. He then glanced down at an envelope sitting on the counter in front of him. "Ah, yes, by the way – your name wouldn't happen to be Maggie, would it?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Um...it depends what's in that envelope," I said nervously. Of course, that pretty much had answered his question right there, but he was an innkeeper, right? If I decided to keep up the charade of being "Jill", then who was he to ask questions?

"It's a letter we received this morning," he replied, naturally looking a bit wary at my reaction. "From a Mr. Gamble. It was delivered on the off-chance that you ended up stopping by. Is...that the kind of thing you're interested in?"

"_Yes." _I let out a huge sigh of relief and grabbed the letter from him. It was from Keegan – perfect. "Thank you so much, sir. Um, would I be able to leave three of these keys at the desk? My friends are going to be coming later, and it would just be easier that way."

He nodded. "Yes, of course. Have a nice stay."

I nodded back at him and, adjusting the strap on my bag, headed down the hallway located to the right of the desk. I followed his instructions and was safely inside my room within minutes. The room wasn't nearly as nice as my luxurious accommodations in Fennmont, but it still wasn't bad. There was a double bed with a nightstand, as well as a couple of armchairs and a table. There was also a small (and when I say small, I mean _small_) bathroom with your regular bathroom stuff – and a shower stall that didn't even look big enough to fit me inside of it.

I sighed heavily and sank into one of the armchairs. I wasted no time in tearing open the envelope and pulling out Keegan's letter. My eyes blazed through the contents.

_Maggie,_

_I've written several versions of this letter and sent it to several seahavens in Auj Oule, in hopes that one of them will reach you. News of what happened to you in Fennmont quickly reached me, and while it's unfortunate that it happened, I can't say I'm surprised. As I'd feared, it's clear that Exodus has some pull with the Rashugal army._

_I understand that you're probably terrified, now that this plan has fallen through. The most important thing is to stay calm. I have, thankfully, devised a backup plan in case of something like this happening. What you should do now is find a way to make it to Sharilton. While it's still in Rashugal, I have a lot of business contacts there – enough that you will be much safer there than in Fennmont. The journey will be dangerous alone, so I suggest using some of the gald I've given you and hiring someone to take you there. Being alone at all right now is probably a bad idea – I'm sorry that I ever thought otherwise._

_I would suggest looking into getting yourself a lilium orb, as well. I don't like the idea that you'll have to fight, but at the very least a lilium orb will allow someone even as inexperienced as you to defend yourself if needed. You can usually get one from any weapons or armour merchant._

_I'll have someone waiting to receive you in Sharilton. Aside from that, your only worry now should be reaching the city itself. As for me, since the plan to throw Exodus off your trail was clearly a failure, I'll continue to look for a spirit fossil to help get you home. If there are any updates, I'll let you know._

_Keegan._

My first reaction to the letter was to laugh. Leave it to Keegan to write such a dry, formal letter. It was so like him. Still, I was thankful to hear from him, to have some sort of plan formed in my head thanks to him.

"Sharilton..." I dropped the letter on the table in favour of rubbing my temples. Well, at the very least, going to Sharilton would fit with my cover story – it would make sense for me to want to return to my hometown after everything that had happened. And even though it would be going back to Rashugal, I trusted Keegan's judgment – despite the fact that it had been totally awful the first time around.

But now I needed to find someone to take me there. Alvin, maybe? I mean, he _was _a mercenary – that was his job, after all, and I already knew I could trust him. Hiring some random person from the seahaven just didn't really sit right in my stomach. Plus, Alvin was decent company, so I knew I wouldn't want to throw myself off a cliff if I had to go on a long trip with him.

"Okay," I murmured to myself. "So, I'll ask him when he gets back, then."

With that much...well, _kind of _decided, I started digging through my bag to take stock of what I'd managed to haphazardly throw inside. I had one spare dress, which took up the majority of the space in my bag as it was. I hadn't bothered to bring any school books, but I had shoved in a couple of the novels I'd bought in Fennmont. There was a toothbrush, a hairbrush, my coin purse...other than that, nothing. What kind of provisions would a trip to Sharilton require? I would probably need to buy some food or something, right? Some medical supplies, maybe? Whatever. That was something I could sort out with Alvin. He had experience with this kind of stuff.

Speaking of "experience", that reminded me of Keegan's comment about the lilium orb. Jude had sort of briefly explained his to me one time – it was basically something that, when you wore it, it...brought out your inner potential, or something like that. It basically made you stronger. Definitely something I was probably going to need if I was going to survive in a world like this.

I glanced out the window. It was a little hard to tell with the rose-tinted sky, but I knew I still had plenty of time to kill before Jude and the others got back from doing whatever it was they were doing. I grabbed my bag off the table, making sure I also took the room key with me (because, let's face it – getting locked out of my room would totally be something I would do). Hopefully I'd be able to go find a lilium orb, and not almost get arrested in the process.

* * *

So, that's what I was up to a little while later. I'd wandered over to the merchants and had ended up finding an accessory-dealer who had a few lilium orbs for sale. The orb itself was set into a silver ring, and when I twisted it, the translucent, shimmering image of a spider's web projected from the orb.

"The more you use the orb, the more of your inner potential it can unlock," the shopkeeper explained to me. "Developing the orb, in turn, helps to make you grow stronger."

I listened to his words, transfixed on the beautiful image of the web. I couldn't imagine something like a tiny ring making me feel stronger. Still, as soon as I slipped it onto my finger and began playing around with it, I felt some kind of change...it wasn't really something I could explain. More of a bounce in my step, a bit more energy – then again, I also could have been totally imagining it. Either way, I thanked the guy for his help, paid him, and then wandered down closer to the water.

I plopped myself down on a bench and gazed out over the ocean. The sun sparkled off of its surface, and the sight of it reminded me of home. In my hometown, there was a huge, wide river that cut through the middle of it. It was hard to go anywhere and not be able to see it. Sitting here, focusing on nothing but the water, it was easy to imagine I was just sitting at the waterfront back home, watching the sunset. Never mind the fact that the horizon was seemingly endless. Never mind the fact that I couldn't see the huge bridge connecting the two sides, or the bright lights of the mall, the fast food restaurants, the movie theatre. Ocean, or river – it didn't really matter. I breathed in the sea air and let it soothe me. I pretended things were fine. I pretended I was home.

I sat like that for quite a while, absently fiddling with the new ring on my finger. Every so often, I would turn around to check if Jude and the others were back yet. My stomach growled periodically; I was getting pretty hungry, and it was probably getting pretty close to dinnertime. Still, the polite thing to do would be to wait until the others got here. Or maybe I could order something now so that it would be ready by the time they got back?

Either way, I didn't have a chance to make a decision, because I glanced over my shoulder and was able to see that the trio had just arrived, and were now speaking to a girl standing by one of the tall columns. Jude and I caught gazes, and I smiled and waved at him. As soon as they were finished, the three of them headed over to see me.

"You're back!" I said happily. "How did things go?"

"Not bad," Jude replied. "Even with everything that's happened, Milla's a fast learner. We got paid pretty well, too." That being said, his eyes lit up as he remembered something and his hands rooted around in his pockets before pulling out my coin purse. "Here's your money back. Thanks, again."

"You're welcome! I got us some rooms at the inn, by the...way..." I trailed off slightly as my attention was drawn to Milla. She stood a little behind Alvin and Jude, and she seemed to be swaying slightly. "Um..."

She fell right over, pretty much face-planting on the ground.

Jude and Alvin both jumped in surprise, and I hopped off of the bench to hurry over to her. I crouched down beside her and placed a gentle hand on her back.

"Milla, are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

Jude crouched down as well, slowly turning her head to the side to press the back of his hand against her forehead. "Hmm, no fever. How are you feeling?"

"I don't seem to have any strength," she said, her voice shaky and weak. Then, as if on cue, a loud, angry growl erupted from her belly.

The look of concern on Jude's face dimmed significantly after that. "Um, have you been eating properly?"

"I've never eaten."

My eyes widened. Wait, what? She couldn't have been serious, could she?

"Ever?" said Jude in disbelief.

"Through Sylph, I drew life from the air," she explained simply. "With Undine's power, I received sustenance from the water."

I guess what she said kind of made sense. If what Jude said about her being some kind of all-powerful "Lord of Spirits" was true, then wouldn't that mean she was technically a spirit herself? Spirits wouldn't really need to eat food, would they? Didn't they eat mana or something?

"What's she talking about?" asked Alvin. He crossed his arms and gave Jude a nudge in the back with his knee.

"I guess the spirits gave her all the energy she needed," said Jude. As if that was supposed to answer Alvin's question. He looked back down at Milla and started to lift her into a sitting position. I did my best to help. "Well, now you're going to have to nourish yourself the old-fashioned way."

"I see," she said, and to my surprise her lips pulled into a smile. "So this is what you call hunger." Then, she actually _laughed_, which threw me for an even bigger loop. It was seriously out of place coming from her, but also charming. "Fascinating."

Once I was sure Jude and Alvin wouldn't have a problem hoisting Milla to her feet on their own, I stood and stretched my arms out.

"Let's head back to the inn, then. I got rooms for each of you, and we should be able to order some food, right?" I smiled at Milla, who was currently being kept in balance by Jude and Alvin. "I'm pretty hungry too, but I mean, probably not 'never eaten a meal in my life' hungry."

"Now that you mention it, I could use some grub myself," said Alvin. He stepped away from Milla and gave her a once-over. "You think you can make it to the inn?"

"That shouldn't pose a problem," said Milla. She stepped away from Jude to test her balance, and while her face was particularly white and she still was still swaying all over the place, she nodded and began leading the way to the inn.

"Welcome back!" The innkeeper greeted me with a smile as we approached the desk. "I see you've reunited with your companions. Would you like those room keys now?"

"Yes please," I said with a polite nod. "Um, would it also be possible to get something to eat, please?"

"Oh, my apologies, but our cook isn't in yet," the innkeeper replied with a frown. I noticed him lean around me to look over my shoulder with a worried look. Naturally, he was looking at Milla, who continued to sway back and forth and was barely standing on her feet. She let out a frustrated sigh and hung her head. "Uh...hey, is she okay?"

"Can we at least use your kitchen?" Jude asked desperately.

The innkeeper took one more look at Milla and nodded hastily. "Yes, please do. Your friend here looks like she's about to pass out."

"My stomach," said Milla, and she didn't sound bothered at all, but rather brimming with curiosity. "It really is growling. And here I thought that was just a silly human expression."

While Milla laughed to herself, Alvin shook his head in disbelief. "I can't tell if that's just her personality, or if the hunger is making her delusional."

"You guys wait here," said Jude. "I'll go make us something to eat." He followed the innkeeper down a nearby hall to find the kitchen, leaving Alvin, Milla and I to hang around and wait.

"Let's get you sitting down before you fall over again, hm?" I took Milla's arm and led her over to one of the tables in the corner. I helped her slide into the bench and then scooched in beside her. Alvin sat on the other side, letting out a sigh as he leaned back.

"I see you got yourself a lilium orb," he commented, his eyes honing in on the ring on my hand.

"Oh, yeah." I started fiddling with it once again, allowing the web to bloom to life in front of my eyes. "I figured after everything that happened, it would be smart, you know?"

"I definitely have learned the advantages of having one since starting my journey," Milla mused, admiring her own. "After losing the power to control the Four, it has helped considerably in furthering my abilities."

"What about you?" Alvin asked, nudging my foot under the table. "I know Jude promised to teach you to throw a punch, but how about I show you a few moves with a sword? Put that new baby to work, huh?"

"Uh..." My eyes trailed down to Alvin's sword, and the very thought of having to fend that off caused me to sweat. What if he accidentally impaled me or something? Could I even lift a sword? I had basically no muscle whatsoever – it was probably a lost cause.

"Jude's probably going to take a while," he insisted, hopping to his feet. He walked around to my side of the table and held his hand out. "C'mon – we'll get some cheap wooden swords from the market so that you won't hurt yourself. Just to get the motion down."

I gulped, and then looked at Milla from the corner of my eye, hoping that maybe she would speak up with some kind of wise advice like "Teaching someone with no experience in fighting to wield a sword is probably ill-advised. She is likely to only injure herself and others."

Unfortunately, all she was thinking about at the moment was probably how hungry she was, so all she said was, "That sounds like a good idea. I shall wait here for Jude to finish cooking."

_Dammit, Milla. Aren't us girls supposed to stick together? Can't you sense how much I totally do _not _want to do this?!_

I sighed heavily and took Alvin's hand. "Fine. I guess a few lessons couldn't hurt."

"Perfect!" he said with a grin, and yanked me to my feet. "Then let's go work up a good appetite, shall we?"

I muttered under my breath while Alvin cheerfully bid goodbye to Milla. We headed over to the merchants, where Alvin was able to cheaply procure a couple of practice swords that, while not wooden, had rounded edges specifically for practicing. I wasn't really an expert on swords, but it looked to just be a simple sword – not too long in length, and one I would probably be expected to hold in one hand. I'd held replica swords before in my life, and while I'm sure the weight couldn't be compared to a real sword, they were still heavy enough.

So, when Alvin handed me the sword, I wasn't too surprised when the weight of it dragged my body down a bit, and I had to struggle to steadily hold it up in my right hand.

"Heh, you really are a little weakling, aren't you, squirt?" Alvin said teasingly. He'd abandoned his actual sword in favour of the practice one, but even that one seemed to rest naturally in his hand.

"You don't have to say it like that," I said with a scowl. "Even if it _is _true. And don't call me 'squirt'."

He raised his free hand in a sign of surrender. "Sorry! I'll try not to do it again. Now then, why don't you start off with just a simple stance? Just try to hold the sword up properly."

"Uh..." I shifted my grip around the handle, doing my best to keep the muscles in my arm tight enough to keep it steady. I tried to straighten my posture, spreading my feet apart slightly to help me keep more balance. Really, I was just trying to copy anything that I would have seen in a movie, so who knew how well it was actually working.

Alvin circled around me, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Hm...well, it's a start. Try spreading your feet a bit more – and keep your shoulders a bit more square." He used his free hand to guide me, using the flat of his sword to press against my back and fix my posture. "Balance is pretty important – wouldn't wanna fall down and scratch up that pretty face of yours."

As he spoke, I could already feel my arm beginning to shake with the weight of the sword. I bit down on my lip, using the pain to distract me from the growing ache in my upper arm.

"It'll take a while to get used to," he said, letting out an obvious laugh at my discomfort. "The lilium orb should help you build up muscle a bit faster, though."

I _did _notice that, while putting strain on my arm, the sword was not nearly as heavy as I imagined it was supposed to be. I'd been holding it steadily a lot longer than I'd expected of myself, so the lilium orb was the only explanation I could really think of.

Alvin paced around me once more before coming to a stop in front of me. "Alright, now try a couple of swings."

"Um...okay..." I did as he said – I tried a couple of short swings, to the best of my ability. As soon as I added movement to my already-shaky grip, the sword wobbled horribly, resulting in some of the most pathetic swings either of us had probably ever seen. "Ugh, shit. I suck at this, don't I?"

"It's your first time, kid. Obviously you aren't going to immediately be a master at it."

"I don't think I like 'kid' much, either," I muttered under my breath, but the sound of it went unheard as Alvin commanded me to try again.

* * *

Our little training session lasted about half an hour before Jude stuck his head out the door to call us inside for supper. My muscles screamed their thanks to him, and I had to resist the urge to drag the sword along the ground as we made our way to the door.

I pretty much collapsed into my chair inside. Four steaming bowls of what looked to be some kind of stew sat on the table in front of us, and I saw that Milla was already eagerly digging into hers.

Well, I guess there was no point in waiting; I followed her example and took a huge bite of mine, not even caring that it was still extremely hot and pretty much burning my mouth. I was too hungry to care at that point.

"Hey, not bad," Alvin said, looking more than impressed as he took his first bite.

"'Not bad'?" Milla repeated in awe, hardly audible with her mouth as full as it was. "It's good!" She swallowed a large mouthful and then gave us all a surprisingly warm smile. "I quite enjoy ingesting calories with you. Humans should learn to cherish these simple pleasures."

"Oh, trust me, I do," I said with a laugh. Her amazement at food was hilarious, but I really couldn't blame her – there really was nothing like filling your belly with an amazing meal when you were super hungry. To think that she'd never had the chance to experience such a thing – it was sad, really. I felt pretty bad for her.

"How did training go, by the way?" Jude asked. He was given pretty much an immediate answer when Alvin's lips pulled into a shit-eating grin pointed in my general direction, and I let out a heavy groan.

"Terrible," I said shortly, giving a large chunk of potato a moody stab. Huh, maybe I could just use a fork to stab enemies to death.

"Hey, now, give yourself more credit!" Alvin's tone was just oozing sass. "You did about as well as to be expected of a beginner."

I rolled my eyes in Alvin's general direction. "That's funny. You sound about as sincere as to be expected of someone like you."

Milla glanced between the two of us, frowning. "So, I take it the lessons will not continue?"

"Oh, they're going to continue," I told her, although it was very reluctantly. "As shitty as it is, I know that it's necessary. And this lilium orb should help me a bit. I'm going to have to just put up with it."

She nodded deeply. "I empathize with your resolve. If we always gave up after the first try, then nothing would ever be accomplished. Perseverance is necessary to complete our goals. I wish you well in your learning."

"Thanks, Milla," I said in surprise, my lips giving way to a smile. She sure did have a way with words.

Aside from that, there wasn't much else conversation as everyone gladly finished up their meals. Before arriving in Rieze Maxia, I was what you'd consider a picky eater, without a doubt. But since arriving here, I'd come to be a lot more adventurous with my food choices, so I ended up cleaning my bowl – even eating the vegetables I would have normally pushed to the side.

It didn't take long after finishing our meal for Milla's head to hit the table, a light snore coming from her throat as she experienced what was probably her first food coma. I absently played with my fork while we all watched her in amusement. It was funny, really – while my first impression of her as a cold, serious, mysterious beauty wasn't too far off the mark, she definitely had her quirks as well, which I was quickly finding out. Seeing her do stuff like this made her a lot more approachable, in my opinion.

"This might be her first time sleeping, too," Jude remarked drily.

"And apparently she never ate before today, either," said Alvin, looking, as always, lost as to what was going on with her. "Who in the world is she?"

"She claims she's Maxwell," Jude said quietly, his amber eyes falling on Milla's still form.

Alvin's mouth fell open and he gave him an incredulous look. "_That _Maxwell?"

"Yeah. She's apparently a spirit in physical form."

"Not just any spirit." Alvin took on a lordly, wise tone. "The Lord of Spirits, Wielder of the Four Elements, the Eldest Spirit...Maxwell has many names." He gave his head a shake, his wide eyes flitting from Jude, to me, and finally, to Milla. "And now we add Milla to that list? She's supposed to be the Spirit Maxwell? You gotta be kidding me."

"Is Maxwell really that mighty?" Jude asked in wonder.

"Of course. That's why this is so hard to swallow." He gave his head another shake and gazed at Milla, this strange woman who'd just passed out after inhaling her food. "I grew up hearing bedtime stories about Maxwell."

"And now 'Maxwell' is snoring on the table beside you." My voice held a sort of dim amazement to it. I definitely understood his disbelief. In my mind, I tried to compare the situation to something back home. I guess it would be sort of like someone claiming that they were God in physical form? I mean, if somebody tried to tell me that, I would just write them off as crazy. Putting that into perspective, I gained a new clarity on just how crazy this situation was. Except that it was real, because Jude had witnessed the proof – her summoning of "the Four", back in Fennmont.

"What in the world would a spirit like that be trying to destroy?" Jude murmured to himself. Despite telling me himself how amazing Milla supposedly was, I don't think he'd actually quite realized just how important of a person...er, spirit, she really was, and now he was just kind of staring off into space, lost in a daze.

"Trying to destroy?" Alvin gave him a curious look. "What're you referring to?"

Jude looked up at him in surprise, as though unaware he'd been speaking out loud. "She called it a spyrix, I think. The device from the laboratory."

"Hmm..." Alvin looked away, seeming to be deep in thought over the matter. I doubted he had any clue what Jude was talking about though, as he failed to provide any sort of insight.

"Maybe I should just ask Milla about it..."

"I don't know," said Alvin, snapping back to reality. "You have a nasty habit of poking your nose where it doesn't belong. Your accursed curiosity made me a wanted man, too, you know."

"I think your love for money did that," I added helpfully, while Jude heaved a heavy sigh. "You're acting like Jude dragged you into it."

"Details, details," Alvin said dismissively. "My point is, think hard before asking, okay?"

Jude smiled at him regardless, doing his best to make it genuine. "Yeah, you're right."

"I usually am," he shot back with a smirk. He stifled a yawn before glancing out the window. "Well, it's getting late enough. Guess we should try to get the sleeping beauty back to her room, huh?"

"I'll take care of it," Jude offered, as I'd suspected he would. He was quick to leave his seat and hoist Milla to her feet, slinging her arm around his shoulders so that he could bring her to her room without waking her. He nodded his head at us and whispered, "I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit."

I watched him go with a barely-hidden smile on my face. I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed it before, but now it was perfectly clear – poor Jude had a _huge _crush on Milla. In fact, I wasn't sure what was cuter – the fact that he had a crush on her, or the fact that he actually thought he was doing a good job of hiding it.

Not that I blamed him, really. I think I had a little bit of a crush on her too, to be perfectly honest.

"Poor kid has it bad," Alvin said with a sigh.

"Oh my God, I know," I said, shaking my head and trying not to laugh too loudly. I started gathering up the empty bowls to bring them back to the kitchen to be washed. "Don't you dare tease him about it, though. I swear, I'll hurt you." I pointed a fork in his direction for good measure.

"You're not even a little bit scary," he said matter-of-factly, reaching across the table to pluck the fork out of my hand. "And while we're chatting, what's up with the weird slang you keep using?"

"Weird...?" I trailed off, frantically combing back through what I'd said. What was so weird? And then my stomach did a tiny flip because I realized he was probably talking about me saying "oh my God". That was pretty much one of the most common sayings in the English language back home, but here? Was there even a "God" in Rieze Maxia? Or did they all just sort of worship Maxwell? Either way, I'd definitely fucked up somehow, so I quickly tried to backpedal. "Oh, um, that. Yeah, that's just something some of my friends back home used to say all of the time. I guess it must have rubbed off on me."

He said nothing; he simply raised an eyebrow at me, clearly skeptical.

"A-Anyway." I cleared my throat and focused my eyes on the bowls I was stacking. "I actually had something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Oh?" His curiosity was piqued enough that he decided to momentarily drop the subject. "And what might that be?"

"Well, I was wondering what your plans were...I mean, now that we're all in Auj Oule."

He shrugged. "Beats me, kid. I'll go wherever the wind takes me...and wherever there's a profit to be made, of course. Why do you ask?"

"I actually have a proposal." I had to clear my throat then, because, for some reason, I was getting really nervous and flustered, which usually resulted in a string of gibberish spilling from my mouth. "I wanted to return to my hometown...to Sharilton. But, since I can't really protect myself or anything, I was thinking of maybe...well, uh, hiring your...services?"

"You want me to escort you to Sharilton?"

"Uh, yeah." I stared avidly at a particular pattern in the grain of the table. "If you don't mind. I can pay you and all, so it's really just depends if you want to or not."

He thought about it a moment before scratching the back of his head and shrugging. "Sure, I don't see why not!"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Really?"

"Yep!" He walked around the side of the table until he was standing next to me. He held his hand out. "Sounds like an easy job, and I know you're good to pay me. Should be fun! I'll get you there, one way or another."

"Great." I smiled and shook his hand happily. "Then, I guess we'll wait and see what Jude and Milla are planning before leaving...tomorrow?"

He nodded. "That's probably for the best. I'm sure Milla can handle herself on her own, but Jude..."

I didn't bother filling the silence. We both knew how that sentence was going to end. It wasn't that I didn't think Jude was mature enough to handle himself, but after everything he had just gone through, I was definitely worried. He was only 15 years old. When I was that age, I was just getting my braces off and still going through my vampire phase. My biggest concern was finding a boyfriend now that my teeth were free from their metal prison. This whole thing had to be hard on him. I wasn't sure how much I could help, but I definitely didn't want to take off for Sharilton without knowing he was safe.

"But, hey," Alvin said suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Are you sure you wanna be going back to Rashugal right now? I mean, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing for you in Fennmont, now was it?"

"I have to," I insisted, even though I knew he was right. "There's no where else for me to go. And it's my home."

He didn't say anything right away, and I had to wonder if it was because he could tell that last part was a huge lie. To me, it sounded like I was dreading "returning home", like it was the last place in the world I wanted to go. Maybe it was. Being in Auj Oule held a lot more potential for being safe than being in Rashugal did, especially if it meant being as far away as possible from that bastard, Elias.

"Whatever you say," he said at last. "As long as you know what you're doing."

"Yeah." I sighed heavily and gathered up the remainder of the dishes, giving Alvin a small nod before heading off to the kitchen.

* * *

**This ends super abruptly, but I honestly had to stop it somewhere or it would have went on forever haha**

**The game never really gives us a description as to what a lilium orb looks like, as far as I can remember, so I decided to just kind of make my own version of it up**

**Also, sword training will be the death of me - OC Maggie and I have that in common for sure (I mean we have everything in common, we're the same person, but shhh)**

**Such a long chapter and we're _still_ at the seahaven. Next chapter, we'll get things moving! So long until then!**


	5. On The Move

**Even after editing all these chapters I've been pasting the old author's notes, but it felt too weird for this one, I dunno. **

**Uh...hope you're enjoying it so far! Thanks to everyone who's read up until this point. You're cool and I love you!**

* * *

I woke up early the next morning. The sun was only just rising, slowly filling my room with a soft, pink haze. I wasn't sure what had roused me awake – maybe a nightmare, or some kind of loud noise. Either way, I lay there with my eyes glued to the ceiling, and they made no move of closing. Sighing in annoyance, I threw the covers off and rolled out of bed.

I barely bothered smoothing my hair down before heading out to the lobby, tossing my key between my hands. Of course, now that I had actually decided to get out of bed, my eyes were growing heavy once again, and my body was wracked with yawn after yawn. I clapped a hand across my mouth as I approached Milla, the only other person who was apparently crazy enough to be awake at such an hour.

"Hey," I said sleepily, joining her at her spot at our table from last night. She looked like she'd just finished a three-course meal with the amount of empty plates spread out in front of her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Sleep is very refreshing," she replied with a nod. "I can see why you humans would enjoy partaking in such an activity. Why is it that you are awake?"

"I wish I knew." I sighed heavily. "It's definitely not like me to be an early riser."

"I have been awake for some time as well." Her eyes flitted to the window. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something. "I've been thinking over what my plans will be, now. Perhaps you have the same problem."

"I'm going to Sharilton. It's where I'm from. Alvin's gonna take me there."

"I see." A long pause. "That's not a bad idea. I was thinking of doing the same."

"Oh, really? Where are you from?" I felt the need to speak carefully, for whatever reason. It wasn't like Milla was the cold, mysterious stranger I'd originally made her out to be, but it still wasn't far off the mark. The fact that I could potentially learn more about her was exciting.

"Nia Khera. It's a village north of here. My shrine is located there. If I return, perhaps I could successfully summon the Four once again."

My eyes widened, a smile forming on my face. "Oh, wow! I hope that works out for you. Is Nia Khera a nice place?"

"I suppose you could say that," she said, and I wondered if she was aware of the fond smile that crept across her lips. "Although, it would depend on your definition of 'nice'. I will say, the people are nice, and the air is very clean. It's quite peaceful." She gave me a curious look. "I haven't been to Sharilton. Do you enjoy it?"

"...Yeah." Had that been too long of a pause? I still wasn't entirely able to discern just how perceptive Milla was. Could she notice that my eyes had kind of gone out of focus? Was my voice super weird and warped? I grabbed on to the feeling of my real home, and held it close to my heart while I tried to elaborate. "I mean, I grew up there. I have so many memories of there, and...I just really miss it."

"Morning, ladies!"

I dug my nail into to arm to keep from sighing in relief. And there was Alvin, saving me from an awkward situation (which was funny, really, since he was often the one causing them).

"Good morning, Alvin," Milla greeted him with a nod. I yawned and gave him a short wave. Then, I took one look at his stylishly messy bedhead and tried to discreetly reach up and comb my fingers through my own hair.

He took a seat next to Milla. "So, what's all the gossip this morning, ladies?"

"Discussing plans," said Milla.

"And cute boys, naturally," I chimed in.

He leaned across the table and smirked. "Is that so? In that case, I imagine my name has popped up, right?"

"Nope!"

His smirk fell.

"I believe she is joking," said Milla, in that almost obliviously-serious tone of hers. "We did not speak of you, other than to discuss your plans to make for Sharilton."

"Ah, speaking of which – what now?" He reached across the table to pluck a piece of fruit from the bowl in the middle. "What does the great Lord Maxwell plan to do next?"

"Good morning!" That was Jude, walking over to the table and having a seat next to me. He looked surprisingly chipper for a 15 year-old boy awake this early in the morning.

"Good day, Jude," said Milla. "I was just about to share my plans with Alvin. Perhaps you would be interested?"

The morning cheer melted from his face a little. A good night's sleep had probably pushed most thoughts of his current predicament from his brain, but now that there were talks of the future, his worries were clearly back.

"What is it?"

"I'm thinking of returning to Nia Khera."

"Is that your hometown?" he asked.

"More accurately, it's where my shrine is," she replied. When Jude's mouth fell open in a sort of daze (most likely because mentioning a "shrine" really did sort of put emphasis on the fact that she was some sort of spirit lord), she continued, "If I go back, I might be able to re-summon the Four."

"So, she really is Maxwell," Alvin muttered to himself.

"This is where you come in, Jude. Will you accompany me to Nia Khera?"

"W-What?" His eyebrows shot up in surprise, now hidden by the mess of black bangs hanging across his forehead.

"It's true that you brought your current situation upon yourself, but I bear some of the blame as well." Her expression was about as close to feeling guilty as I imagined it could get, which still wasn't very guilty. "I'll put in a good word for you with the people of Nia Khera. I'm sure they'll look after you."

Alvin let out a surprised laugh. "Wow, you've put a lot of thought into this."

"Yes," she said, and nodded resolutely. "Remember when you told me that I seemed unconcerned? I decided to take that to heart."

Jude looked unsure of what to say. He was staring at Milla with wide eyes, his lips moving to form silent words until he finally managed to get out, "M-Milla...you don't need to practice your swordplay anymore?"

"No need to concern yourself with my martial abilities," she said confidently.

"Well, if nothing else, you know how to swing the pointy end," Alvin added helpfully.

"Okay," said Jude after another long pause, and this time he sounded surer of himself. "I'll come with you.

Milla seemed pleased with his answer. "Good. You needn't worry."

"I'm glad," I said with a relieved sigh. "I was really worried about what you were gonna do, you know." And then I resisted the urge to ruffle his hair and call him "kid", because he was 15, not 10. Plus, I wasn't Alvin.

"Wait, what about you?" Once again, cue the trademark "Jude Mathis worrywart face". "What are your plans now?"

"Alvin's going to take me to Sharilton," I replied. "I got a letter from my brother yesterday – he says I'll be safe there."

"You're going back to Rashugal?" He didn't look too thrilled at the thought. "That's...are you sure that's a good idea?"

I shrugged, letting out a heavy breath. "Nope. But that's my only action plan right now. My brother's never let me down before." _Except for when he told me I'd be safe in Fennmont, _a dry voice in my head reminded me.

He didn't look convinced, but he still nodded. "Okay. If that's what you want to do, I won't stop you."

"As if you even could!" Alvin said jovially. He reached across to lightly punch my arm. "This girl's a natural-born swordswoman. She'd kick your ass!"

"I'm gonna kick _your _ass if you don't quit it!" I tried to slap his hand away, but he was too quick for me.

Jude laughed nervously. "Looks like the two of you are going to have quite the journey."

_You've got that right, Jude._ I stifled a yawn. I already wanted to go back to bed and I'd only been awake for half an hour. Something told me this was going to be a _long _day.

* * *

"Well, I guess this is goodbye."

The four of us stood at the gates to the city. I'd let the words slip from my lips in an effort to relieve the suddenly awkward silence. I wasn't sure why the silence was awkward, or why there was even a silence at all – all we were doing was seeing Milla and Jude off. Our ship didn't leave for another couple of hours, so we planned on waiting around the seahaven until it was time to leave. I just had this inexplicable feeling deep in my gut, as if something bad was going to happen. I knew Jude would be safe in Nia Khera, and that I was being paranoid for no reason, but I just couldn't shake it.

"Hey, don't look so sad," Jude said with a small smile. "It's not like we won't ever see each other again. I'll probably be able to come back to Rashugal after everything's sorted out, and then I'll come visit you in Sharilton!"

I tried to return the smile. "Yeah, you're right. Heh, sorry." Still, I reached out and gave him a hug, and I held on long enough that it was probably weird but I didn't really care. If things went well, and Keegan found a spirit fossil like he was supposed to, then this very well could have been our final goodbye.

"Stay safe on the road," said Alvin.

"You have my gratitude for assisting me in my training," Milla said with a short nod. She turned to me and offered a polite smile. "I wish you well on your travels."

"Thanks, Milla," I said. "It was nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Jude glanced at her, and they shared a look of understanding. We offered each other a few final goodbyes and then they started down the road.

Alvin shoved his foot into the back of my knee, causing my leg to give out momentarily. I whirled around to smack him, narrowly avoiding him as he hopped out of the way.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Quit acting so forlorn," he said casually. "You look like you're sending that kid off to his death."

"I could be," I muttered irritably, but I left it at that. There was no way Alvin would understand how I felt right now, and it wasn't really like I could just tell him, so I simply sighed quietly and started wandering over to the shops.

"Maybe you should get yourself a real sword, moneybags." Alvin had come to stand behind me, thoughtfully examining the wares of the weapon merchant over my shoulder. "That practice sword might deal a nice blow to the head, but it probably won't be much help in a real fight."

"I don't plan on being in a 'real fight'..."

"I don't think many people 'plan' on it, kid." He reached around me to point to a sword hanging on the shelf, one that was very similar in size and shape to my practice sword. It had a pretty little flower design on the handle, as well as on the sheath. Alvin grabbed it off the shelf and unsheathed it to demonstrate – the blade was sharp. Awesome.

"This is a very bad idea," I told him. My eyes refused to leave the blade's sharp point. "I'm probably gonna end up dropping it and stabbing myself in the foot or something."

"You're being dramatic, just give him the money."

I groaned, digging through my bag to find the money. I counted out the correct amount and reluctantly handed it over to the merchant.

"You'll thank me for it later," said Alvin. "You know, when you're face to face with a wild monster and actually have something to fight back with."

"I thought that's what I was paying _you _for," I mumbled. I took the sword from Alvin and attached it to my belt, on the opposite side of my training one. The added weight felt awkward, but at least it wasn't putting strain on my shoulders or back.

I headed over to the dock to stare at the ocean – you know, stereotypical moody teenager stuff. A ship was slowly making its way to shore, and I focused deeply on the rippling waves it formed in the water. In my mind, I started to make a list of everything I was going to have to do before I got to Sharilton. If I still had my phone, then I would have opened up the notepad and made an _actual _checklist, but for now, a mental one would have to do.

1\. Long, relaxing, but probably also very boring boat ride. Meh.

2\. Probably stay at the seahaven for the night and stock up on some supplies.

3\. The actual walking part of getting to Sharilton, which would be super awesome with the long distance and having to deal with monsters lunging at us from the bushes or something. Remind me why no one had invented cars here?

4\. Get to Sharilton – alive, preferably.

5\. ?

I sighed, running a hand through my hair to keep the sea breeze from blowing it in my face. I was trying not to think about the actual destination, and more about the millions of problems I was going to have to face getting there. Still, the actual destination was _probably _something I should have been worrying about, considering the fact that I had no clue what I was going to be walking into. Keegan had assured me it was safe, and while I believed him and everything, it was just a little bit nerve-wracking to be heading into the situation blind. How was I supposed to know where to go? Why did he have to be so goddamn cryptic?

I stood there for a little while longer, watching the ship finally make its way to the dock and make preparations for people to disembark. Eventually, I lost interest and decided to head back to the inn to grab something to eat. We still had a few hours, so maybe I would take a nap in the lobby or something like that.

After grabbing a ham and cheese sandwich from the food counter in the inn lobby, I walked back outside, scanning the area to see where Alvin had gone. It didn't really surprise me that he was nowhere to be found. I decided to give up on it, and sat on a bench close to the water to eat my sandwich in peace.

I hadn't even remembered stretching out across the bench and falling asleep until I felt someone urgently rousing me awake. I jolted upwards, squinting up at Alvin in annoyance.

"What?!" I exclaimed irritably. "What is it?"

"We have a problem."

My annoyance faded to make way for alarm. "What kind of problem?"

He pointed towards the docks, where a congregation of what appeared to be soldiers were gathered. Shit. Shit, shit, _shit._

"We have to hide!" I hissed, jumping up from the bench. Stray breadcrumbs fell from my clothes to the ground.

"Whoa, not so fast!" He grabbed my arm, pulling me aside to hide behind a tall stack of crates anyway. He crouched, peering out from around the corner of the crates. "That's not all of it."

There was a bad taste in my mouth. I felt like I was going to vomit. "Seriously? There's more?"

"You're not the only one they're looking for, kid." As if to emphasize his point, he glanced over his shoulder towards the gates. "We just said goodbye to a couple of fugitives a couple of hours ago."

_Shit. _Milla and Jude. They were headed towards Nia Khera, and they had no idea that a group of Rashugal soldiers were right on their tails. They were going to be ambushed!

"I'm sure Milla can handle a couple of soldiers," said Alvin. He ducked back into our hiding spot and turned to face me. "We should find a place to lay low until the soldiers leave the seahaven and then get the quickest boat out of here."

"But..." I frowned. But what? Why was I trying to argue that? It made the most sense – it was the safest option. "But what about Jude?"

Alvin raised an eyebrow. "What about him? He's pretty tough, plus he has Milla looking out for him."

"They can't fight off an entire army by themselves, Alvin!" I felt dangerously close to tears. How could I just run away to Sharilton and let Jude and Milla get captured without even trying to warn them?

"It isn't an entire army," he said patiently. "Besides, what's your brilliant plan? Run after them?"

I didn't say anything. That was exactly what I wanted to do, but it was pretty much the dumbest thing I _could _of done. _Stay out of it_, I wanted to tell myself. _All that matters is getting home. All of these people will be nothing more than part of a bad dream once you're home. None of this will matter. None of it._

"I want to," I admitted quietly. "It's the right thing to do, isn't it?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't mean you have to."

I groaned, almost loud enough to warrant concern that we would be heard. I fiddled with the strap on my bag for a moment before mumbling, "I'll pay you extra if you take me."

He cursed under his breath, softly, without any real anger under it. He stood from his crouched position and adjusted his scarf.

"They'll probably try to stop in Hamil for the night," he said finally. "If we're quick, we should be able to catch up with them there."

I gave him a broad smile. "_Thank you, _Alvin."

* * *

After discreetly slipping out the gates while we had the chance, Alvin and I were now walking along the highroad. The road was lined with trees and high rock walls. There was a bare, worn path of dirt that snaked through the grass and offered some semblance of guidance, but other than that, it really wasn't much of a road. I mean, there were no cars here, so what use was there for paving roads?

As we walked, I continued to glance over my shoulder at the gates to the seahaven, which were slowly getting further and further away. My hand was permanently poised upon the handle of my sword, ready to wildly swing it any monsters that tried to make me their lunch.

"You need to calm down," Alvin said casually. He, meanwhile, was walking with outstretched arms, his hands clasped behind his head. "The monsters usually won't bother you if you stay on the road."

"Usually," I muttered. My grip tightened. I could see movement in the distance, off the roads. I refused to focus on that. I didn't want to see a monster. I didn't. If I didn't see one, I could pretend they weren't real.

"You're just going to tire yourself out if you keep being all tense like that," he went on. "Seriously, we're probably gonna have to walk well into the night if we wanna catch them while they're camped out for the night."

Reluctantly, I let my hand fall to my side. Stupid Alvin. He was probably right.

...at least, these were my thoughts _before _I heard the weird, high-pitched "_gabbit!" _and was pushed out of the way so Alvin could swiftly swing his sword at the beast right behind me. It jumped back, and in the brief pause afterwards I was able to fully take in its appearance. It was a tall, ugly thing, with long, knobby fingers and a long spiky club for a tail. Upon hearing its battle cry, several others had gathered around us, leaving us in the middle of a nice, old-fashioned monster circle.

I'll admit it. I was not brave in that moment. I latched on to Alvin's arm and let out the girly-est scream imaginable. Naturally, that got the monsters all worked up and I could see their large tails swish back and forth menacingly.

"Cut it out," Alvin said sharply, giving his arm a shake. "You have that sword for a reason. It's time to put it to good use."

"I can't!" My voice immediately cracked. I was on the verge of sobbing. "Alvin, I really can't!"

One of them lunged at Alvin from behind. He whirled around to fend it off, just as another lunged at me. I dove out of the way, wiping out and scraping my hands against the dirt. When I managed to scramble to my feet, another swung its tail at me and I barely avoided getting hit.

I threw a glance over my shoulder. Alvin was busy fighting off his own attackers. He didn't have time to protect me. My heart pounded painfully against my chest as, with shaking fingers, I drew my sword.

The monster in front of me tensed, sensing the new threat. "_Gabbit!"_

"No!" As the monster pounced, I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away, holding my sword out in front of me and swinging wildly. I felt it slice cleanly though flesh and fur, heard the monster let out a pained gurgle, and felt a hot spray of blood hit my arm.

I finally opened my eyes to see that the monster was still alive, and bleeding heavily from a gash I'd made in its chest. I barely had time to feel faint at the sight of so much blood before the thing pounced. I let out a startled cry and held my sword out in front of me. The beast pinned me to the ground, lodging the sword into its own chest in the process. Its large hands slapped at my face for several moments until it gradually lost strength and I was able to shove it off of me. Once it was on the ground, I went into a panicked frenzy and started stabbing the thing, refusing to stop even after it lay in a pool of blood and was clearly very much dead.

"Hey." I felt Alvin's hand on my shoulder. "It's dead–"

"_No!" _I jerked away at the contact, falling back onto my butt. I was broken out of my trance, and now fully aware of the fact I sat in a pool of monster blood. Alvin had slain the others. With the danger gone, my fight-or-flight response (which had clearly chosen fight) faded, and I allowed my self to let out a terrified sob. I clapped a hand to my mouth to muffle it. "Oh my God."

"That...wasn't bad," Alvin said quietly. "You killed it, anyway."

"That was awful," I whimpered. I threw my sword to the side. I didn't even want to look at it. "I've...I've never killed anything before. I mean, I've killed spiders, but that's not...I mean that can't even _compare _to–" I cut off, feeling overwhelmed by my own words.

"You've...never seen a monster before, have you?"

I shook my head. Of course I hadn't.

He sighed and held his hand out to me. "C'mon. You did good, kid."

I laughed at that, bitterly and without humour. Still, I grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull me to my feet. My dress, once pale blue and pristine, was now covered in blood splatters that would no doubt fade to stains. The same went for my white tights.

"I mean it," Alvin insisted. He bent over to pick up my sword. "It wasn't the most elegant fight, but you got the job done. You didn't run away."

"I don't even want to look at that thing," I said, in regards to my sword. Alvin ignored me and slipped it back into the sheath attached to my hip.

"It'll get easier." He took a knife from his belt and knelt down in front of one of the fallen monsters. He then grabbed a fistful of fur and started expertly cutting it away from the body.

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

"Merchants will pay good money for materials like this," he explained. After getting what he wanted out of that one, he moved on to the next. "They count on people selling them raw materials for trading opportunities. In return, the people who give them the materials – in this case, us – will usually get rewarded with gald and sometimes discounts on merchandise."

I nodded my head, showing I understood, but couldn't say anything. It was safe to say I'd been in a state of denial all this time. Being in a city, I'd been able to tell myself things were normal. Maybe, deep down, I'd secretly believed I was still on Earth – that this was all going to be easily solved.

I stared down at the blood on my fingers. This was not Earth. This was a world where swords were as common an accessory as handbags, and monster parts were traded around like goddamn coupons.

This was Rieze Maxia, and even though I'd escaped Elias, I was not out of danger. Not by a long shot.

* * *

It took a couple more hours of walking before Alvin could get me to speak again – not that it stopped him any. He gabbed on and on about anything he could think of, and while I knew he was trying to help in his own, weird way, it was almost making things worse.

Anyway, my point is, when I finally _did _speak, it was to complain.

"My legs are gonna fall off."

"You really are a city girl," Alvin said in disbelief. "I can't believe how out of shape you are."

I immediately got defensive. "Okay, sorry I'm not used to walking to a whole other city Mr. 'Completely Awesome and Perfect Mercenary'."

"I forgive you."

I let out a _very _irritated groan. Okay, I'll admit – I _sucked _at being healthy. My idea of exercise was the collective 20 minutes it took to walk to and from work everyday – which often did _not _happen in the harsh Canadian winters I was used to. So, yeah. Walking for an _entire freaking day?! _Nope. It was all I could do not to cry from the burn in my leg muscles. Plus my face was really starting to hurt from getting smacked around by that monster from earlier. I probably had a black eye.

We'd encountered several more monster battles after the first – things like giant scorpions with hugely oversized stingers, and things almost reminiscent of wolves. We fought them all off without much incident – or rather, Alvin did. None of them came in terribly large groups, and Alvin managed to kill every single one of them. He insisted he didn't mind, and that he was fine to keep going, but the sun had barely set and I could tell he was beginning to tire out.

"We should stop to rest," I said finally, slowing my steps.

Alvin stopped, giving me a surprised look. "Are you kidding? The night's barely started! We have a few more hours to go if we wanna manage to catch up to Jude and Milla."

"You're exhausted, Alvin. You've done all of the fighting all day and it isn't fair..." I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. "I'm sorry."

"Hey now, I'm a mercenary, remember?" As if to reinforce his point, he tapped his sword. "Fighting is my job. Besides, there will be a lot less monsters on the road now that night has fallen. It's the perfect time to keep going." His tone was as enthusiastic as ever, but I could see in his eyes that he really was tired. Regardless, he didn't plan on giving up. He was pretty stubborn that way.

"Then I'm going to fight now," I said firmly, and for the first time since that afternoon, I fully gripped the handle of my blade. It caused my stomach to twist, but I didn't let go.

"You really don't have to," he said with a heavy sigh.

"I'm gonna." I shrugged. Maybe acting like it didn't bother me would translate into my _actual _feelings on the matter and I'd grow some nerve. After all, I knew now that I was, at the very least, able of killing a monster when my life depended on it. My fear of dying provided me with the brief burst of adrenaline I needed to get the job done. I'd deal with the horrible repercussions afterwards.

"If you insist. Just don't push yourself – you're still an amateur."

"I take offense to that." I offered him a wry smile – it was the best I could do, but it seemed to do the trick. The two of us continued walking, and this time, I did my best to contribute to conversation.

"Do you think Milla and Jude will stop for the night?" I wondered aloud.

"Hard to say," said Alvin. "Milla strikes me as the type who wouldn't want to waste the time, but she's also still getting used to 'living without the Four'."

"Plus I doubt Jude could keep up with her," I added with a laugh.

"That too."

We walked for most of the night, stopping only for a brief break to refuel our energy with food. I could feel myself getting seriously drowsy, but at the same time, I knew there was no way I'd be able to sleep out in the open with the fear of getting mauled in my sleep hanging over my head. So, I used that as motivation to keep myself awake and kept on trucking.

As the sun began to slowly creep into the sky, the tall rock walls gradually gave way to roiling plains and fields filled with crops. The amber light of dawn was made even more breathtaking by the naturally rosy sky, and so it felt as though the world was slowly bursting to life with colour around us. The path had begun to slope upwards, and as I paused to catch my breath, I quickly lost it as I took in the view we'd left behind – seemingly endless plains bathed in pink light.

For that brief moment, I forgot my worries.

"In a few hours, we'll reach Hamil," said Alvin, breaking me out of my reverie. "Since we haven't found Milla and Jude yet, I'm guessing they're gonna crash there for the night." As an afterthought, he added, "If they haven't already made it there. I'm not gonna lie – we haven't really been hustling."

I blushed, feeling guilty again. I know he hadn't meant it that way, but I knew it was my fault we'd been moving so slowly. Even now, I felt like I was going to collapse at any minute. The thought of walking for another few hours had me screaming on the inside.

However, the thought of a nice bed to crawl into pulled me forward, and I found the strength to move my feet.

"What is...Hamil like?" I asked Alvin. My voice was low and scratchy, and I had to force words out between heavy breaths.

Alvin shrugged in response. "I've never really been there. As far as I know it's just some tiny little backwater farming town."

I frowned. "Should we really be...headed there if we have...the Rashugal army following right behind us?"

"They're coming regardless. Better we get there soon and warn Milla and Jude so we can get the hell outta there."

He made a good point, but I was still worried. I hated the thought of some tiny, innocent town getting screwed over because of us. I hoped we'd be able to get to Hamil, find Milla and Jude, and, as Alvin had so eloquently put it, "get the hell outta there" before we caused the people there too much trouble.

As close as we were to the town, the monsters were far and few between. I'd had one particularly close encounter with a wolf, where it had almost had the opportunity to sink its fangs into my arm. I'd managed to drive my sword through its chest before it'd gotten the chance to. The shock from actually killing something was still huge, and I still had to turn my head as Alvin pried some of its fangs from its bleeding mouth, but there was no meltdown afterwards. I was able to tell myself that it was a matter of life or death – I could shut down completely and let myself be torn apart, or I could fight for my life. Live. The choice became simple, and I was able to use that as motivation, as long as I didn't allow myself to think about it afterwards.

Eventually, the hills became dotted with actual farmhouses, with heart-wrenchingly familiar sights like cows and horses. The buildings were built with grey, stone bricks, with wooden framing and long, red shingles on the roofs. The roofing gave me a very eastern feel, and that made me happy – it was something I could place. Something familiar. It wasn't exactly like home, but it also wasn't giant tree-houses built on a lake under an eternal night.

Wooden fences began lining the trail beside us as it dropped down steeply into the lands below. Houses dotted the different levels and cliffs, with ladders leading to upper levels. We'd finally reached what I expected was the main of the town, and my heart swelled with joy. Civilization at last!

"Look at all of those trees," I breathed in amazement, gazing around at the multitude of fruit trees that dotted the area. All of them were filled with delicious-looking poranges and napples (the fruit here was so weird – they had regular apples and oranges, but then also these weird other ones? I didn't pretend to understand it, but they were good regardless).

Alvin stopped and sniffed the air. "I'm catching a whiff of cider. They must have orchards here."

"I wonder if Jude and Milla are here." I took another look around. There was a fair amount of people around – sitting on porches, strolling down the path, standing around chatting. An elderly woman took note of our arrival and approached us. She had snow-white hair that was braided and pulled back into a ponytail, save for one small streak of orange. Her smile was worn and kind, and she wore a baggy red tunic with thick fur around the shoulders.

"My, what are the odds?" she said warmly. "It isn't everyday we get visitors, and yet the two of you are the second pair to arrive!"

I perked up at this. "There's another pair here? Is it Jude and Milla?"

She looked a bit puzzled. "Why...yes, I believe those were the names I heard. Do they happen to be friends of yours?"

"Something like that," said Alvin. He flashed her his signature charming smile. "You don't happen to know where they are, do you?"

"I've allowed them to stay the night in my home," she replied, and gestured at the large, two-story house a little way down the path. "I'm the mayor of this town. Would you like me to bring you to see them?"

"That would be awesome," I said enthusiastically. I felt all of the tension drain from my body in that moment. We were in town, we were safe (for the time-being, anyway), and about to be reunited with Milla and Jude. It hadn't even been a day since our stressful farewells – ones that I thought were going to be final. I'll admit, I was excited to see them again, even if it was only to bring them bad news.

The mayor paused, her eyes widening in horror at the bloody mess that was my dress. "My, what in the world...?"

"M-Monster fighting..." I said quietly. I'd almost forgotten about it, but her reaction was enough to remind me that yes – I'd fallen into a puddle of monster blood. I'd had to kill things. I was a mess.

"Oh, dear," her expression then changed to a sympathetic one. "Your poor dress is ruined. I may have some spare clothes you can have back at the house. We'll have to give you something for that eye, too."

"I would really appreciate that." I gave her a grateful smile, discreetly reaching up to touch my face. _Ouch. _Yep, that was definitely a black eye. I was dreading looking in the mirror later.

The mayor's house was beautiful, even from the outside. It was built partially on a hill, so we were forced to climb a tall, turning set of steps to reach the large wrap-around porch. Once inside, I was immediately warmed by the coziness of it. Light filtered in through the frosted, patterned windows, and additional light was provided by lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The walls and shelves were filled with paintings, plates, and knickknacks, and a good old-fashioned wood-stove was burning up against one wall.

Probably the best sight of all, however, was that of Milla and Jude sitting at the large dining table in the middle of the room.

Jude's eyes widened in confusion when he saw Alvin and I standing in the doorway. "A-Alvin? Maggie?!"

I laughed awkwardly, giving him a small wave. "Uh, hey Jude. Long time no see!"

"Hm?" Milla turned in her chair to look at us, and her expression was as close to confused as she could come as well. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, you know – just dropping in," Alvin said casually. He discreetly nodded his head in the direction of the mayor, and his point was clear – this wasn't something he wanted to discuss in front of her. "We knew you guys were in the neighbourhood so we thought we'd come visit."

It was a wonder the mayor didn't notice the heavy tension in the room – there was enough of it pouring out of Milla alone. _I _noticed it anyway, and it was making me super uncomfortable until Jude finally spoke up and said:

"H-Hey, how about we go for a walk?"

"Not so fast!" the mayor said suddenly, and it was with the tone of a stern grandmother. She clamped a hand on my shoulder. "You are not going anywhere without a bath and a change of clothes – you look exhausted, young lady."

She _did _have a point, but all I could think about was a long line of soldiers marching their way through town and mowing down anyone in their way. We really had to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Good idea!" Alvin cut in, clapping a hard hand on my back. When I tried to speak out in protest, he raised his voice to talk over me. "I'll take a walk with these guys and fill them in on our plans."

"_Alvin–"_

_"_You're a mess," he said firmly. "You'll scare the townspeople."

I felt like hitting him, and I might have if the mayor had not been standing right there. Regardless, I allowed her to lead me up the stairs while Jude, Milla and Alvin headed out the front door, Alvin giving me an infuriating wink as they did.

* * *

About an hour later, I had myself scrubbed clean (after almost falling asleep in the tub) and changed into a fresh set of clothes. My old dress was a lost cause. I'd allowed the mayor (Edith, as I'd discovered her name was) to get rid of it, and I was now dressed in a slightly oversized green tunic, with fur around the collar and sleeves – much like the mayor's. I had to admit, it was _super _comfortable. Plus, it was nice to have something a little warmer to wear – I'd noticed that the further north we'd got, the colder it became.

I also cautioned a look in the small mirror sitting on the bathroom dresser. It was hard to tell in the dim lantern light, but my face did _not _look good. A nice splatter of deep purple colour was spread across my eyelid and beneath my right eye, blooming especially nicely on my cheekbone, where the skin was raw and red, just short of bleeding. Other than that, I also had a cut on my lip, and a series of red welts on the left side of my face. Those freakishly big hands had really done a number on me.

Anyway, I threw the tunic on over a fresh pair of brown tights and my boots and headed downstairs. The others still hadn't returned yet, so I walked outside to see if I could find them. I paused on the porch of the house to take in the view – vibrant green fields stretching into the distance, practically farther than I could even see.

The villagers were pretty friendly. Most of them waved or nodded their heads in greeting as I walked passed. Hamil wasn't very big, and Edith had said they didn't get very many visitors here, so seeing a fresh face was probably exciting for them. It was a welcome change from Fennmont, a big city where everyone was so caught up in their own business that they rarely stopped to notice their surroundings – kind of like big cities back home.

I finally caught up to the others in what was the coolest orchard I'd ever seen in my life – the trees stretched up into the sky, so tall I had to crane my neck to see the tops of them. Wooden walkways had been constructed around the top, going from tree to tree so that people could easily reach the fruit on the branches. Milla, Alvin and Jude sat at one of the picnic tables arranged in a small cluster halfway across the clearing.

"You look better," Milla noted as I approached.

I awkwardly climbed into the seat next to Jude. "I feel better. Or at least cleaner, anyway."

"Alvin told us what happened," Jude said in a low voice. He glanced around nervously before continuing. "We're going to take the rest of the day to rest and then leave Hamil once night hits."

"Shouldn't we leave _now?"_ I fought to keep myself from sounding too exasperated. "They were just getting into the seahaven when we left – they can't be too far behind us."

"I know I said we were moving slow, but there was also only two of us," Alvin explained. "Large groups cover less distance. It's a fact. The world's not gonna end if you and I take the rest of the day to rest. We're gonna need sleep if we plan on making it to Nia Khera in one piece."

I raised an eyebrow. "We're going to Nia Khera now?"

"It only makes sense," said Milla. "I still haven't paid Alvin for his services, and the army is after you, as well. We should lose them after entering the Kijara Seafalls. After that, it will be safe for you to head back the way you came."

_More travelling, _I thought bitterly. _Sweet. Probably more fighting, too._

"You and Alvin should head back to the mayor's house and get some rest," said Jude. "By the sound of things, the two of you had a rough journey." At this, there was no missing the hint of sympathy in his voice, especially when he offered a quick glance at my eye. Great, so I'd only been gone an hour and Alvin had already managed to spill the beans about my little meltdown? I made no secret of shooting him a dirty look.

"The kid's right," was his unapologetic response. He got up from the table and came around to ruffle my hair. "Girls your age need their beauty sleep."

"I'm actually going to kill you," I muttered under my breath, angrily swatting his hand away. I shoved him away and got up from the table. My legs shook just holding up my own weight – all that walking had made my calves freaking _hurt. _Going to sleep probably wasn't going to make it much better.

"We'll come wake you up when we're ready to leave," said Jude.

"Aren't you guys going to get some sleep too?" I asked.

"We slept for most of the morning," he explained. "Once we get some distance from the town, we'll find a place to hide out and camp for the night."

That was enough to give me some relief. So we wouldn't be going right back into walking for _that _long. I would only have to worry about my legs falling off for a few hours, as opposed to a night and a day. I could deal with that. I could.

So, Alvin and I returned to Edith's house. She had a spare room with two beds, both of which with blankets that were slightly wrinkled and out of place. Jude and Milla must have slept in them this morning.

I let out a contented sigh as I flopped face first onto the bed. The pillows were extremely fluffy – probably stuffed with the Rieze Maxian equivalent of down or something. Every inch of my body seemed to cheer in celebration of finally being able to rest my weary bones.

"This is going to be the best sleep of my life," I murmured. "Even if it's only going to be a few hours."

"You need a cuddle buddy?" Alvin called from the other bed.

The last thing I remember doing before plunging into the depths of sleep was flipping him off and hearing him laugh in response. It was the fastest I'd ever fallen asleep in my life.

* * *

**We're finally getting somewhere!**

**As far as I remember, the mayor never gets a name. Now she has one!**

**We get to go to one of my fave locations next chapter and meet one of my fave characters. Be very excited please ok thanks for reading byeeee**


	6. Beach Trip

**At the time this chapter was written/posted, I'd finally gotten around to playing Xillia 2! I'd almost beaten it, so all of the fresh Xillia feels gave me the push I needed to finish this chapter! (That and the fact that I dragged my friend into playing the first one and made him cry multiple times hehe)**

**Anyway, I won't keep you! Thanks for your patience. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Rise and shine, kid. We gotta get moving."

Hearing Alvin's voice in my ear and feeling his hands gently shake me awake caused me to let out the loudest irritated groan ever. I swatted him away, still half-asleep, and stuck my head under the pillow to escape him. Stupid jerk. Couldn't he see I was trying to _sleep? _So inconsiderate.

To prove my point, the pillow was briefly ripped away from me before we were reunited in the form of Alvin smacking me in the head with it. _Hard._

"_Ow!" _I sat up and tried to glare at him, but the moving of my facial muscles caused stinging pain all across my face. So once again – ow. "Alvin, what the hell is–?"

"Our buddies finally caught up to us," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the window. "It's time for us to leave."

"Shit," I hissed, immediately leaping out of bed and rushing over the window. I cautiously cracked it open and peered out. A group of red-clad soldiers stood near the entrance of the town. Edith stood defiantly before them, no doubt questioning their presence. Next to her stood a tall, giant of a man in a long, bright yellow coat.

"We'll leave town through the western exit," Alvin was saying. He was taking the liberty to pack up all of my loose things into my bag. "There's a side door downstairs we can slip out through without being seen. Milla and Jude are waiting for us."

I took my bag from him, heart pounding painfully in my chest. My fingers shook so badly that it was a wonder I didn't drop it on the ground. For a moment, I was paralyzed – frozen in place by the fear that these guys were actually going to catch us and bring us back to Rashugal, where they would probably kill Milla and throw Jude in prison and throw _me _back on that _fucking medical table and –_

Alvin gave me a rough shake. "Hey. No time for spacing out – let's move."

"Uh, r-right." I followed him downstairs, where Jude and Milla were anxiously waiting by the door. Milla's hand rested firmly on her sword, ready to draw in a moment's notice. Quietly, Jude cracked the door open and, one by one, we all slipped outside and crept down the stairs of the back step. As we snuck away from the house, I could barely make out the deep, baritone voice of the man in the yellow coat.

"Who's that giant guy?" I whispered to Alvin as we made our distance from the mayor's house. The way we walked, cautiously and half-crouched, made me feel like I was on some sort of secret mission. If the situation hadn't been so tense, I might have started humming the Mission Impossible theme song or something.

Alvin shrugged in response. "Beats me."

The trail we took led further up into the mountains, and eventually we came to a fork in the road – one path led to the orchard we'd all sat in earlier, the other off into some unseen location (our exit, probably). A small house sat in the middle, probably the smallest that I'd seen in the village so far. It looked to be in a slight state of disrepair – a shingle missing from the roof here, a missing board on the deck there.

Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied with checking out this house that I almost walked right out into the open. It wasn't until I felt Jude drag me back and pull me down into their hiding place that I realized there were soldiers stationed at the exit, and I'd almost given us away.

"The soldiers beat us here," Jude said under his breath. If he knew how, the kid probably would have cursed.

"Any ideas?" I asked. My voice shook as the panic I was feeling began to spill out.

Milla stood defiantly, already about to draw her sword. "We force our way through."

"Right, and fast," Jude agreed, much to my dismay. "Before any more arrive."

"_Guys!" _I gaped at them. What the hell Jude? He'd clearly been hanging around Milla too much, since her boldness was obviously starting to rub off on him.

Alvin, thankfully, agreed with me. "So that's your plan? Just charge through? I thought I was hot-headed."

I heard the sound of footsteps crunching on dirt behind us. I stifled a scream, just as Jude whirled around, fists ready to pummel the new threat.

...Only it _wasn't _a new threat, but rather, a little girl. She looked like she was about 10 or 11, dressed in a long, elegant purple dress – like something you'd see on a gothic lolita doll, with ribbons and layers and a wide-brimmed skirt that billowed out over tall boots. Her blonde hair hung in her face, which was currently flushed as she hid behind some kind of weird, purple stuffed toy.

"E-Excuse me," she spoke up timidly.

Jude relaxed, his fist slowly unfurling and falling to his side. "What is it?"

"Um...what are you doing?" Her big green eyes fell to the ground, and she swayed back and forth. I had to bite my tongue – I really didn't mind kids, but now was _really _not the time for this kind of thing. I cast a nervous glance towards the soldiers.

"We're trying to figure out how to get past those soldiers," Milla explained simply.

"Way to cut to the chase," said Jude, sighing.

"So...those people. They're...in your way?" The girl thought hard about this for a moment, before slowly turning to focus her gaze on the soldiers. Her brow furrowed in thought.

Then, the weird-looking thing she was holding suddenly opened its zig-zaggy mouth in a broad, black grin, its eyes popping open.

The four of us jumped back in alarm, especially when the thing suddenly lifted from her arms and zoomed over to the soldiers. It bounced from head to head, the soldiers letting out cries of surprise and pain.

Alvin looked on in a sort of mild horror. "What in the world...?

"How did you do that?!" I asked in amazement. It almost looked like some kind of remote-controlled toy, but not one I'd ever seen before. She didn't have any sort of remote or means of directing it at all, but the thing looked all-too content to be bouncing between heads over there.

"What's going on here?"

The loud, booming voice made me jump about a foot in the air. I latched onto Jude's arm, recoiling when I realized it had come from the man in the yellow coat – he'd approached from behind the girl, and was even scarier up close. His skin was a golden brown, with a long, brown beard that split into two pieces, almost looking like a fish tail. Thick, white fur lined the broad shoulders of his coat, and he wore a _giant _hammer strapped to his back – I felt bruises just looking at the thing.

He had no business with us, though. At least not right away. He approached the girl, his expression giving away that he was not very pleased.

"Child!" he said, his tone scolding. "You know you're never to leave the shed!"

The girl bowed her head. Any pride her expression had gained from "helping us" was sucked out and now she just looked really upset.

The man then noticed the soldiers (who, at this point, were in rough shape – one lay on the ground, groaning, while the other tried to fend off the girl's toy), and his face turned red with rage.

"Rashugal troops? Curse you! How _dare _you come here?" He lumbered past us, as though we weren't even there, and went to the troops. I swear, I almost felt the ground shake as he did; the guy was _freaking huge._

With the man's approach, the toy halted its assault and zoomed back over to its owner, who promptly took off down the path towards town, the toy floating along behind her.

"Huh? Where's she going?" Jude wondered out loud.

I heard a loud grunt of pain. Whirling around, I saw that the big guy (who I'm just gonna call Hagrid, for now) had his hammer out and had just knocked the remaining soldier off of his feet. The second one struggled to get up, reaching for his spear, but Hagrid brought the hammer down onto the soldier's hand. I could practically hear the bones of his fingers cracking under the weight.

Once the soldiers were out of commission, Hagrid hurried back over to us. There was a sense of urgency in his expression.

"Which way did she go?"

"Toward the square," Jude offered hesitantly.

"What? No! She mustn't!" He almost started to bolt after her, but paused to give us a once-over. "You all must be outsiders. You should hurry and leave this place." And with that, he took off down the path after the girl.

"I have no idea what just happened," Alvin said casually, giving his head a shake, "but I ain't complaining. Things just got easier for us."

"Let's get out of here," Jude agreed.

The others began heading toward the exit, but I felt stuck in place, for some reason. My eyes drifted back towards the town, and I had this weird, heavy feeling in my gut.

"I'm kinda worried about that girl."

Milla paused. "I wouldn't worry. That man seems to care for her. She's probably in good hands."

I didn't say anything in return, but despite Milla's apparent wisdom, I wasn't convinced. She'd been wearing a shy smile on her face as she'd helped us, but any trace of that had vanished upon Hagrid's arrival. She'd run away as soon as his back was turned, and what was all that bullshit about "you're not allowed to leave the shed"? This whole situation gave me a bad feeling, but I didn't have time to worry about it, because the others were practically dragging me towards the exit.

* * *

We walked the trail in silence for a little while. Although Alvin was convinced that Hagrid had scared the Rashugal soldiers off of our tracks, Milla was still keen on getting some distance from the town before stopping. Her sharp eyes scanned our surroundings for potential spots to camp out, spots that would give us shelter and hide us from view.

"You know that girl we saw back in town?" Jude finally said, after we'd been walking for a little while.

"The one with the weird doll thing?" said Alvin. "What about her?"

Jude gave him a look. "You didn't think that was odd?"

"You can't waste your energy on other people's business." He waved a dismissive hand. "All part of growing up, kid."

"I'd hardly consider you a grown up," I muttered, earning myself a light punch in the arm.

"Besides, she was controlling that doll and shady people were chasing her," Jude insisted. "That doesn't bother you?"

"Eh, plenty of that going around. Just look at ourselves." He shrugged. "I think we have enough on our own plates. You really want more irregularities in life?"

Jude didn't respond right away. I couldn't really say much to that either – my answer was a definite "no", but it wasn't that easy in this case. She was a young girl. There was obviously something weird going on – maybe it wasn't our place to get involved, but what if something bad happened because we hadn't?

The hills turned to miniature mountains that stretched up and surrounded us as we walked, as though we were at the bottom of a canyon. Much of the sunlight was blocked by the large shadows they cast, and Milla was able to find a suitable indent – a shallow cave located next to a small pond that was hidden from the plain view of the road.

"This should do nicely, for now," she said as we came over to inspect it. "We'll camp here for the night and set out first thing in the morning."

I glanced up at the sky. The whole spirit clime thing made it kinda hard to tell, but if I had to guess, it was around suppertime. We had a couple of hours to kill before night fell, meaning, if all went well, I'd be able to get a full-night's sleep. I felt like cheering and dancing, but I was really freaking tired so that obviously wasn't going to happen. Instead, I settled for plastering a smile on my face and plopping down into the sparse grass.

"Camping, huh?" I said, absently plucking at the grass. "So, what's first? We have to make a bonfire, right?"

"A small one should come in handy, yeah," said Alvin. He briefly took in our surroundings. "Guess I should find some firewood..."

"No need," said Milla, and then fire materialized out of _freaking nowhere _between her hands and she shot it towards the grass.

"Yikes!" Alvin scrambled out of the way, shooting Milla a wide-eyed look. "Why don't you warn us before you go and do something like that?"

I swallowed back amazement, instead trying to pass it off as surprise. Shooting fireballs out of her hands? Was this something that was normal for the "Lord of Spirits"? Shortly after, I remembered – spirit artes. Right, that was something that pretty much everyone could do here. The whole reason I was being hunted down – because there was a world where people weren't able to. A world just like mine. Still, this was the first time I'd really seen it in person, and it was...alarming, to say the least.

"My apologies," said Milla. She sat down in front of her handiwork and sighed. "Now then, what's the plan for our meal? I'm quite hungry."

Alvin began rummaging around in his bag. "Uh, let's see. I think I should have a couple of pre-packaged meals left from last time I stocked up. We'll probably have to look into hunting on the way to Nia Khera."

A package was tossed into my hands. The label read "spiced chicken rolls" – it looked like a spring roll, probably stuffed with vegetables and chicken. I stared at it, contemplating. Okay, so what would be in this? Chicken, maybe cabbage, probably onions..._hopefully _not mushrooms. I'd have to plug my nose or something and force it down.

"If you pass them to me, I will heat them up for you," said Milla. She currently had her own in her hand, and a faint orange light was emitting from her hands.

"Wow, you're like a human microwave," I said in amazement. I moved to hand Jude my food, but he didn't take it right away. He was just giving me a weird look.

"A human what?"

"Oh, uh, shit..." I waved my hand, practically shoving the package at him. "Nothing. Forget I said anything. She's a spirit, anyway. Yeah...so, uh, Kijara Seafalls huh? What are those like, by the way?"

"You're really bad at changing the subject," said Alvin. He lightly bumped me on the head with his fist. He looked a lot more suspicious of me than Jude did.

"You're really bad at being _nice,_" I shot back.

Jude shook his head before handing me back my freshly heated food. "Whatever. Anyway, the Kijara Seafalls are in Auj Oule's water clime. Water flows in from the ocean in the form of waterfalls, and the whole area is like a beach."

"That sounds really pretty!" I said happily. Despite the fact that I could barely do the doggy paddle, nothing in the world made me happier than water. Pools, rivers, oceans – anything. I was now very excited for our destination – even if a sea monster ended up making me its lunch.

"I suppose it is a nice view," Milla mused. Her mouth was half-filled with food.

Sighing in relief that the subject had been changed, I bit into one of the chicken rolls. The gag reflex instantly kicked in; there were definitely tomatoes in this. _Gross. _I did my best not to make a face and forced it down. I casually dug my fingers in and started picking out the tomatoes.

"How's your face, anyway?"

With the hand that wasn't all covered in food, I reached up and gingerly touched my cheek. Yep, ow. That still hurt.

Jude saw my reaction and frowned. "I'm sorry. With all the excitement, I didn't even think to try and do anything for it. Let me see..." He held his hands out in front of my face, and I squinted slightly as a bright light emitted from his fingertips. My face suddenly felt really cool, like ice water was filling up behind my cheeks, and the dull pain I'd been feeling eased away. When he was done, Jude lowered his hands and gave me a nervous look. "Well? Any better?"

Cautiously, I moved some muscles around and had to stifle a gasp. The pain was _completely gone._

"Don't look so surprised," he said with a self-conscious laugh. "I'm guessing by the look on your face, it worked."

"T-Thanks. Sorry." I smiled at him. _Calm down, idiot. Spirit artes. It's normal here._

"It's okay. I guess I can understand your situation – why you wouldn't really be used to it."

Alvin had raised his eyebrows again, looking ever-suspicious, so I rushed to change the subject.

"You'll make a good doctor, Jude!" I blurted, taking a bite of my chicken roll. I felt a slimy piece of tomato slide down my throat and started coughing. "H-Honest!"

Alvin didn't say anything this time, but I definitely saw the laugh he was trying to hold in.

Milla was the first one out that night. As soon as she'd started lightly snoring, Alvin had gone off somewhere for a walk, leaving only Jude and me. I was curled up under one of the thin blankets we'd managed to score from Hamil, using my bag as a pillow. Jude however, looked pensive, sitting up against the cave wall and staring into the fire.

"What's up?" I asked him quietly, so as not to wake Milla.

He glanced at me briefly. "I'm just thinking about this whole thing. A-About Milla's mission, that is."

"She...wants to destroy that thing, right? The spyrix?"

"She called us infants. Humans. She wants to destroy it because she doesn't think we know what to do with something so powerful."

I thought about Elias. About the spyrix he'd used to bring me here. I couldn't help but agree with Milla, in a way. Human were just infants, especially if you compared them to greater beings like spirits. Given power, humans would abuse it. Earth or Rieze Maxia, it didn't matter. That was one strong similarity they seemed to have.

"Humans don't exactly have the best track record though, do we?" I asked, giving him a bitter smile. "Maybe she has a point. If she thinks it's for the best..."

"Maybe."

"Jude...I wouldn't let what she said bother you." I looked at Milla. She looked so different when she was sleeping. All of the usual stern determination was completely gone. She looked very much at peace. "Milla's a spirit, right? _The _spirit, or whatever? If she thinks this is what's best...it probably is. I don't think she meant to lump you in with whoever's trying to abuse that spyrix thing."

"I know." He switched views from the fire to instead stare up at the sky. "I'm just overthinking things. There's so much going on."

"Well, you're not in it alone," I reminded him. "I'm caught up in this crazy situation too, and so is Alvin – although, I kind of think Alvin likes the thrill of it all."

"You're right," he said, smiling at last. "Sorry. I just feel as if Milla doesn't have as much faith in humans as I do."

"Yeah." I didn't say anything more after that. If Milla really _was _the Lord of Spirits, then chances were she'd been around long enough to have a reason not to have faith in humans. Years of experience probably did that to her.

* * *

We made good time the next morning. Milla, naturally, insisted on getting up nice and early, and we didn't waste too much time hanging around before we were back on the road again. The further away from Hamil we got, the more relaxed I became (despite the fact that my legs were still killing me), and I stopped glancing over my shoulder in paranoia to take in the changes in our surroundings. The sky was particularly noticeable – it was slowly fading into a more normal, blue colour. The first blue sky I'd seen since arriving to Rieze Maxia. I wanted to cry.

The others chatted to pass the time, and I listened in with a mild interest. I started to tune it out a bit when I realized they were talking about Auj Oule politics, but I got the basics of it – Auj Oule was made up of a bunch of different clans that had been brought together by some King Gaius guy to form the country itself. Apparently they were always fighting amongst each other, though.

Eventually, the dirt and grass path faded to sand beneath our feet, and I was able to feast my eyes upon the wonder that was the Kijara Seafalls. The most noticeable aspect was the large rock outcrops that stretched into the sky and swooped over like jagged stone waves. There were palm trees and sparkling salt water everywhere, and in the distant I could see the rushing waterfalls. I breathed in the salt air, gazing at the sight in awe. It was slightly warmer here, maybe because of the spirit clime or something, and I worried the thickness of the tunic I was wearing was going to be too warm.

"Once we cross the Kijara Seafalls, we'll reach Nia Khera, the village of the spirits," Alvin explained, mostly for Milla's sake. He glanced over his shoulder. "At least the soldiers didn't come after us."

"I hope we didn't make trouble for those villagers," said Jude, hanging his head. "They were so kind to us, too."

"What else could we do but run?" said Alvin with a shrug. "Rashugal's troops showed up."

"The villagers picked the fight," Milla said simply. I knew she was talking about Hagrid in particular. "Not us."

"How can you talk like that?" said Jude. "Maybe they were trying to protect us?"

"If you're worried about them, then maybe you should go back." She met him with that steely stare of hers, and when he faltered and couldn't find the words to say, she turned on her heel and started walking away. "It was a pleasure knowing you, Jude. Thank you for all of your help."

Jude stared after her, looking stunned. "How...can you be so cold?"

She stopped to look back at him. "You'd rather I get emotional? I'm afraid I don't have that luxury. What is it you humans say...? 'I have no time for waxing sentimental'."

I trained my eyes on the waterfalls in the distance. This was getting real awkward, real fast.

"Because of your mission?" he asked quietly.

"Precisely."

"So you think your emotions would prevent you from doing what you have to do?"

"Can a person still perform their duty if they become emotional?" she challenged calmly.

Jude was quiet for a moment before giving her a desperate look. "Only one way to find out. You'd have to try and see."

"Well then, you should take your own advice."

"Huh?"

Finally, Milla turned to fully face him, and although her words this whole time had been jarringly cold, her face was calm. Almost encouraging.

"Just be yourself, and do what you have to do. Maybe then you'll have your answer."

"I...suppose."

"Don't go thinking you have to act like the great Lord Maxwell here," Alvin finally chimed in casually. "You're only human."

Jude mulled his words over before saying, "Hey, are you on a mission, too?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he said with a sigh, coming over to sling his arm around Jude's shoulders. Jude staggered, surprised at the sudden extra weight. "Are you sure you really want to know?"

"Huh?"

"I don't want to make you feel like the odd one out now! We know goals of our lady friends here, don't we? So what are _you _gonna do, huh kid? Go back to the village?"

Jude stared after Milla, who was patiently pacing around by the water as she awaited his decision. His eyes narrowed with a sudden resolve and he said, rather forcefully, "No."

"Alright!" said Alvin, releasing Jude and stepping away from him. "Then let's go."

I stared at him. A weird feeling was buzzing deep in my gut. What was my mission? Getting to Sharilton? Staying alive? At this point, it felt like I was just kind of wandering from Point A to Point B, filling in time until Keegan was able to get me home. Tagging along with Milla and Jude like this, I felt like I was at least actually accomplishing something. Having a specific destination in mind had me feeling like I wasn't just a sitting duck.

It didn't really matter, anyway. It wasn't like I was going to risk my life by joining Milla on her mission just for the sake of not being bored. She could save Rieze Maxia on her own; she was perfectly capable of doing so without the "help" of someone like me.

In any case, I kept myself from having a Jude-style inner crisis and followed after the others. The sand was mostly packed tightly together, so it wasn't too difficult to walk across it. However, the area was covered in rocky platforms, so we eventually to do some climbing. When we came to the first platform, which was a little taller than eye-level and had vines clinging to its sides, I gave it a doubtful look.

Alvin slapped me on the back, startling me into a jump.

"What's wrong? Don't know how to climb?"

"Shut up, of course I do." I pushed away from him and immediately attached myself to the vine, first securing my feet within its natural footholds and then attempting to pull myself up. This, however, resulted in me desperately trying to free my feet to continue the climb, and then falling flat on my ass in the process.

Naturally, Alvin made no attempt to hide his laughter, but what _really _came as a surprise was the pained sound coming from Jude as he tried to hold his in. I glared at him.

"_Listen. _I'm a city girl. The only thing I'm used to climbing is the stairs."

"I-I'm not laughing!" Jude clamped his mouth shut, but the smile still remained.

I sighed and tried again, this time moving quickly so that my feet had no time to get stuck. I pulled myself up and over the ledge. Milla stood there already, having expertly climbed the vines herself as soon as we'd reached them.

We continued onwards, and I slowly got the hang of climbing, although it made the muscles in my upper arms ache. We eventually came to a flat stretch of sand, which was followed by a series of large, flat stepping-stones spread across a pool, and I paused for a moment to stretch my arm muscles and crack my joints.

"I could walk through this place forever," I said happily as I stared out at the sparkling water. "It's so peaceful!"

"Not for long," I heard Milla mutter, and then she let out a battle cry and I heard steel clashing against something hard. I turned around and stifled a scream when I saw a tall, fish-looking thing with a menacing face, standing on two stubby fins and holding a huge fishhook.

"Out of the way!" Alvin yelled, suddenly shoving me out of the reach of one of them. The fish's hook sliced a shallow cut into my hip and I hissed loudly. "Draw that sword of yours."

I paled. "W-What?! Alvin, I _can't!"_

He brought his sword up to block a fishhook, using the other hand to fire a shot from his gun. The fish backed off, and he used the brief opening to take the liberty of unsheathing my sword for me and shoving it into my hands.

"You killed the goblin, you killed wolves, you can _kill_ this merfish! Don't go soft on me, now!" He backed off to close the distance between himself and the merfish and started slashing at it.

As soon as he was gone, another one lunged at me. I raised my sword, quickly, just in time for the hook to latch onto the blade. Panic and adrenaline pushing me forward, I slid the sword free and then swung wildly. I ducked to narrowly avoid the fishhook cutting into my head and then charged, burying the blade deep into the merfish's gut. Lovely things like intestines and other gutsy things came spilling out around my sword, but I swallowed back my revulsion and kept stabbing the thing until I was sure it was dead.

Mine was the last to fall, and I held my breath as I used its body to wipe the blood and guts off of my sword.

Alvin gave me a hard clap on the back. "There you go, kid! You did fine."

"Yeah." Shivering, I gave him a grimace and sheathed my sword.

Jude was giving me a look of concern. He ran his hands over the cut on my hip and the stinging ceased.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, that feels much better," I told him with a smile. "Thanks."

"That's...not really what I meant..."

"I'll be fine. Really." I squeezed his arm, hoping the action was reassuring. At the very least, he returned my smile.

"How much farther is it, anyway?" asked Alvin.

Milla glanced around, frowning. "I'm not entirely sure. I think we're close."

"The closer we get, the more curious I am," said Jude. "Is it a nice place?"

"Hmm..." Milla thought about it for a minute and then smiled, much like she had when I'd asked her about it the other morning. "Yes. I'm very fond of it. It has a certain kind of...serenity. When I meditate there, it feels like my power is concentrated."

Jude, of course, gave an amazed reaction, while Alvin let out a large yawn and stretched out his arms.

"Let's take five. All that climbing was murder on my feet, and the fight really tuckered me out."

"We can rest once we reach the village," Milla said simply.

"Oh come on, _relax,_" said Alvin, and his arm found its home slung around Jude's shoulder. He winked at him. "Nia Khera isn't going anywhere, right? Rest a while. These city slickers aren't used to all this tough walking."

"Oh, um, sure!" said Jude, struggling awkwardly to get away. "Hey, I won't argue with that."

I let out an almost giddy laugh. "Me either! Please, Milla?"

She sighed irritably. "Very well."

We walked a little farther away from the beach, onto a flat, rocky island that stretched across a pool tucked into a waterfall-filled alcove. The sight was very pretty, and the sound of rushing water was a little overwhelming. Milla continued onwards to be alone, and I got the impression she wasn't very happy with stopping.

Alvin plopped down onto the rocks, pulling off his boots to dip his toes into the water.

"Thanks, Alvin," said Jude. He had to speak loudly to be heard over the roar of the water. "You're a pretty considerate guy, aren't you?"

He leaned his head back to look at him. "Well, I do have to admit, you had me worried, kid, trying to act all tough like that."

"Oh, yeah. Is it really that obvious?" He gave a self-conscious laugh and waved a hand. "Anyway, I really am fine. And I've found that I'm pretty good at pushing all the complicated stuff out of my brain."

"Is that right?" Alvin didn't look entirely convinced.

I thought about Jude's words. Could it even be that easy for him to just shove everything out of his head? I didn't exactly believe him either, because I'd been trying to do just that for days, and I was definitely more out of my element than he was.

Some kind of commotion sounded out from the direction Milla had gone, and our attention was immediately drawn.

"What was that?" I asked nervously.

Alvin was immediately on his feet and running off in that direction, with Jude close behind him. I hesitated, not keen on running straight into danger again, but I ultimately decided to follow them.

I wasn't quite prepared for the sight we came upon, and I had to stifle a gasp. Milla floated in the air, seemingly bound in place by chains of light. A beautiful woman stood upon a tall rock in front of her, holding some sort of spell book. The woman was a tall, slim blonde, with thin glasses and what looked to be cat ears formed out of her hair. Her outfit was like a blue jumpsuit, cut right down the middle to display a shit ton of cleavage that was only really held in place by corset-like ties. She looked down as we approached, a smirk on her face as a freaking _tail _swished out from behind her.

"Who are you?!" Jude exclaimed in alarm.

Alvin had a weird look on his face – an intense glare, mixed with some sort of strange emotion.

"You like her?" the woman asked. Her voice was that silky, sultry kind of voice – I was having trouble believing she was even for real right now. She looked like something out of some horny dude's weird anime fantasy. "Is she the one who caught your eye?"

"Alright, let her go," said Alvin, taking a threatening step forward. It was then that I realized she'd been talking to Alvin when she posed her question. "I could care less what you're here for, but she's my employer right now."

"Then stay back," the woman snapped. "Unless you want me to kill your golden goose."

"Alvin, do you know this girl?" I asked under my breath.

"That doesn't matter," he muttered back to me. "We need to get Milla out of there."

"Alvin, look" Jude hissed, pointing up to the cliff wall. I followed his gaze and found he was staring at a large rock jutting out from the wall. "That rock, to the right. Can you hit it?"

Alvin gave him a look. "Jude, now's really not–"

"Take a look," Jude insisted. "It could be the key to saving Milla."

"Alright," said Alvin, taking his gun out. "You two ready?"

"Yeah," Jude said with fierce determination.

"Ready for what?!" I whispered in alarm.

Alvin flicked his gun to peer into the magazine, but otherwise didn't respond. What were these two up to? What was I supposed to be preparing myself for?!

Realizing that Alvin wasn't paying any attention, the woman clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"Oh, you're just going to watch her die, then? With friends like that..." She trailed off as Alvin aimed his gun at the rock on the wall, a confused frown forming on her face. He fired several shots at the thing, and when he was done, he switched his aim to her. The rock shook slightly, but other than that, nothing happened.

"Is that supposed to be a warning or something?" I asked, feeling hopelessly lost.

My question was answered when the rock suddenly sprouted several thick, long tentacles and detached itself from the surface of the wall. It hit the ground with a loud, rumbling crash, and the woman was so startled that she lost her hold on Milla. The chains shattered, and Milla landed safely on her feet.

The monster flung itself towards the pillar the woman was standing on. It hit with such force that the woman was flung backwards. She hit the wall behind her, slamming her head and falling unconscious before landing in the water.

"What's the expression?" Milla asked as she ran towards us, sword drawn. "'Out of the frying pan'?"

"And into the firefight," Alvin finished, giving our new target a good once-over. "Come on, let's clean up this mess."

"Are you _joking?!" _I exclaimed as the thing landed back on the ground again. It looked like a giant hermit crab, with two long, dangerous-looking tentacles and a tail to match. The rock I'd previously thought it was acted as a shell on top of it. Wolves and merfish were one thing. This creature was the biggest thing I'd ever seen in my life, and Alvin actually expected us to fight it? "Why aren't we running?!"

"We won't escape that easily," Milla informed me. "This creature is angry. It'd be best to finish it off."

"But–!"

"It's charging!" Jude shouted.

The beast suddenly launched itself through the air towards us, and I had no time to react before Jude tackled me out of the way. I barely caught myself with my hands, scraping my palms on the rocks. The beast immediately started slapping at Milla with its tentacles. She did an impressive series of flips and spins to avoid them.

I scrambled to my feet. "Jude, I really can't do this."

"I know you're scared," he began, but had to cut off as the monster spun around, shooting a sharp jet of water out of its mouth. The water hit my stomach with an almost piercing intensity, and I was flung backwards.

As I struggled to catch my breath, I felt something change. Something sparked through my body, starting at the finger my lilium orb was on, and then travelling all the way up to my head. Jude was suddenly beside me, and with a flash of light, I felt instantly better, and was able to jump to my feet.

I gave him a surprised look. "What did you just do?"

"You have a lilium orb too, right?" He gave me a reassuring smile. "In that case, we can link. Alvin taught me how to do it. You feel the change right? The connection?"

I paused to think about it. I wasn't sure how, but I'd suddenly become a lot more aware of Jude's movements. I felt almost as if I could predict them – could move _with _them somehow. It was really, really strange.

"I-I think so."

He held up a fist. "I know it's scary. But I have your back, okay? Between the four of us, we'll take this thing down. I won't let you get hurt."

I could feel my eyes growing hot with tears, so I quickly turned away from him and pulled out my sword.

"Thanks, Jude."

The monster shot out another water jet, but this time, we were ready. Jude did a quick sidestep, and I was able to jump out of the way. Alvin took advantage of the fact that the monster was paying attention to us and fired off several shots into its underside. Milla then swept in, taking a slice at one of its tentacles. The blade cut deep, and the creature let out a pained cry before spreading out its tentacles and spinning around quickly. All of us were knocked down once again.

Thanks to Jude, I was quickly back on my feet. While he ran in and got a few quick strikes in, I sized the thing up. My hands shook. Even if I wanted to attack this thing, how was I going to go about it without getting killed?

The creature spun around to shoot water at Milla, and I was hit with a sharp spike of bravery. I ran forward and, before I could become too afraid to act, stabbed my sword into its side. The monster let out a loud howl of pain, and I was briefly stunned with what I'd just done. I'd...actually hit it. A proud smile crept across my face...

...and was immediately wiped away as the thing swung around and I didn't have the sense to let go of my sword. I held tightly to it, not wanting to lose it, and so I ended up being flung backwards, my head hitting the ground with a sickening thud. The only consolation I had was that my sword was still grasped firmly in my hand. That was it. Other than that, I felt like I was going to throw up.

Jude was at my side in an instant. His hands glowed as he passed them over my head, and the horrible, throbbing pain subsided. I gave him a weak smile.

"Sorry."

He shook his head. "Are you alright to stand?"

I allowed him to help me up, and although I swayed a little, I was otherwise fine. I turned my eyes to the fight just in time to see Milla slice one of the creature's tentacles clean off. She was rewarded by the thing letting out a feral scream and charging at her. It crashed into her and she went flying backwards, landing in the water with a big splash.

"Milla!" Jude exclaimed in alarm. He ran at the beast, letting loose a fierce uppercut punch that almost seemed to glow and spark as it hit. "_Demon Fist!"_

I was caught off guard by the attack, as always. I'd seen Jude and Alvin and Milla use special attacks like that before in battle, but they always surprised me nonetheless.

Regardless, Jude continued to unleash punch after kick after punch at the thing, and I felt obliged to help. I ran forward, our linked state giving me courage, and started slashing at it as well. It was my typical fighting style – slice after slice with no real precision, fuelled by fear and adrenaline. Still, this time it was a bit different. Because Jude and I were "linked", I felt attuned to his movements. My slashes seemed to complement his strikes, and between the two of us, we really seemed to be giving this oversized crab hell. With only one tentacle left to strike with, it was resorting to flinging that around wildly while it spat jets of water out at us. I continued hitting it until my luck ran out and a jet of water knocked me back again.

Milla was out of the water at this point, her long mane dripping in her face. With an angry battle cry, she ran forward and managed to slice off the other tentacle of the monster. It started shooting water out of its mouth nonstop, looking much like a fire hydrant in use. Alvin then slid to a crouch and sliced the monster's stomach open up its length. It let out a final howl before collapsing, dead.

"Is it over?" I asked, my breathing heavy.

With great effort, Alvin and Milla pushed the thing into the water and it sank out of view.

"You did good," Jude assured me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Linking seems to help you out, huh?"

I nodded and smiled at him, too overwhelmed to express the gratitude I felt towards him. I hid my hands in my sleeves so he couldn't see how badly they were shaking.

Alvin walked over, giving Jude an impressed look.

"So you spotted that monster camouflaged as a boulder? Good eyes, kid."

Milla, however, did not look quite as impressed. "Did you ever consider what would've happened if the creature charged at you instead of that woman?"

"It wouldn't have mattered either way," Jude replied simply. "Alvin still would have gotten into that woman's blind spot."

"You thought of all the angles that quickly?" Alvin asked, giving a surprised laugh. "What are you, a tactical genius?"

"Genius is a good word," said Milla. _Now _she looked a little impressed. "Not many people can think that fast."

Jude blushed. "H-Hey, it was nothing."

"Thank you Jude," said Milla, smiling. "Alvin, Maggie – you all helped out a great deal."

This, of course, only caused Jude to blush even more.

I hesitantly wandered over to the pool where both the monster and the woman had fallen in.

"Do you think she's still in there?"

"Hm?" Alvin joined me, peering into its depths. The water was clear – I could see even the smallest of rocks settled on the bottom. She was nowhere to be seen. "I guess she got away. Oh well."

"You're not even worried?" Jude asked him in disbelief. "She was after Milla! She could be dangerous. Shouldn't we–?"

"Hold your horses, Mr. Honours Student!" said Alvin, raising his hands in that "I don't give a shit" way of his. "We're not gonna get anywhere if we spend all day worrying about the bad guys. Come on! Let's get moving."

To my surprise, Jude and Milla didn't question it. I knew Milla was impatient to get to Nia Khera, but I found it hard to believe that neither one of them brought it up to Alvin. The two of them started off ahead, but I held back to give Alvin a doubtful look.

"What's with the sour face?" he asked teasingly.

"So you're just gonna act like the two of you totally didn't know each other?" I challenged him.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"That girl!" I said, feeling frustrated at his obvious playing dumb. "She was totally giving you the eyes. The way the two of you were talking all cryptic and stuff – you know her."

Alvin slung an arm around my shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about, kid. Sounds to me like you're a little bit jealous, hm?"

"Grow up," I said, rolling my eyes and shrugging away from him. I made fun of Jude for blushing around Milla, but Alvin very much had the same effect with his idiotic comments.

"Fine, don't tell me!" I sniffed, giving him a glare that was only half-joking. "It's not like it's any of my business if you have a history with a girl who just tried to kill Milla."

He smirked. "Glad you understand."

I rolled my eyes, deciding to drop it. It's not like it was any of my business whether or not Alvin had a history with this person. I trusted him enough to believe he'd say something if he thought it was really going to be a problem.

The two of us continued on ahead to join Milla and Jude.

"Well that was something!" Milla was saying. "I've never seen such a large monster before."

"So that _is _a rare thing, then?" I asked, feeling relieved. I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it if Rieze Maxia was known for its giant hermit crab monsters. "There's not a lot of big ones like that, are there?"

"Not really," said Jude. "Monsters who experience a mutation in their mana lobes can expand to massive sizes."

"You read that in a book?" Alvin asked, elbowing him in the side.

"Yep."

"Sheesh," said Alvin, sighing dramatically. "Not much gets a rise out of you, does it? You're no fun at all."

"You didn't seem particularly surprised yourself," Milla observed.

He shrugged. "That wasn't anything I hadn't seen before."

"You've travelled around the world and seen all sorts of things, huh?" said Jude.

"All true," he said, in that typical proud tone of his. "But I've never seen anyone pick a fight with a monster that big before."

"Well, I'm glad that we were able to show you a new experience," Milla said happily.

Alvin chuckled, shaking his head. "Mmm. Lucky me!"

* * *

We continued walking for a little while longer, and eventually the rock formations began to thin out, and the sand beneath our feet hardened. I'd been thinking about the encounter with that woman for a while, and it was starting to bug me. I'd made peace with the fact that Alvin wasn't going to give me any details, but it still had me on edge that she'd just vanished like that.

Eventually, Jude voiced my concerns.

"So, any idea who that woman was?"

"No clue," Alvin said, shrugging. "Although, she did seem to know me."

"That's for sure," I muttered, and I didn't miss the look Alvin shot me for it.

"I imagine you mercenaries make a lot of enemies in your line of work," said Milla.

Alvin said nothing, but did give a shameless grin and another shrug as a response.

"I have to admit, she was really pretty," Jude commented.

"I never pegged you for the bad girl type, kid," said Alvin, giving Jude a sly grin. "Or maybe you just like older women."

"I-I don't know," said Jude, laughing self-consciously. "Maybe?"

"It doesn't matter for now," said Milla. "We won't have to worry about her unless she tries to attack again. It would be best to remain on our toes."

I tried to hold in my sigh. Milla was far too casual about the fact that this woman had attacked her and then just vanished. If I was in her shoes, I would be looking over my shoulder every five seconds. I didn't know how she did it.

Anyway, it only took a few more minutes of walking until Nia Khera finally came into view. The sandy path we walked on soon became traced with intricate patterns, and we followed it all the way up to a large, fancily-carved wooden arch that served as the entrance to the village. Dome-like houses dotted the hilly landscape, and all sorts of farm life could be seen roaming around, grazing on the vibrant grass. A stream cut through the middle of the village, and the same rock formations from the seafalls could be seen stretching into the distance, eventually forming into a tall, impressive mountain.

"We've arrived," said Milla, and as soon as we stepped foot into the village, her whole body seemed to relax. I wasn't sure how attached Milla was to this place, but I could imagine the feeling. Coming home after a long trip – it was something I'd been craving since I got here. I felt a little jealous.

"So this is Nia Khera," Jude observed.

"Huh. I thought it would be...fancier," Alvin admitted.

Now that he mentioned it, I had sort of assumed the home of the Lord of Spirits would have a little more grandeur involved. This, for the most part, looked to be a sleepy, peaceful farming village.

Milla ignored all of us and approached an elderly man, sitting cross-legged and looking deep in thought.

"Excuse me," she said politely. "Where's Ivar?"

"Hm? He went off to find Lord Maxwell, and..." The man trailed off as he stood and saw who he was talking to. His eyes widened in surprise. "L-Lord Maxwell?!"

"Yes, I have returned."

The man hastily crouched into a bow. Other nearby villagers had heard the outburst, and were soon gathering around to follow suit.

"I-I can't believe you'd deign to speak to me!" the man exclaimed, his voice shaking. "I am unworthy!"

"This is nuts..." I whispered in shock. Alvin nodded, crossing his arms in disbelief as he took the scene in.

"I guess she really is the real deal."

"She's something alright," Jude said, shaking his head in amazement.

Alvin scratched the back of his head. "Not everyone gets to road-trip with a major deity. I had my doubts."

"Guess this is enough proof," I said.

"Please relax," Milla was saying to the man. "No need for formalities."

The man said nothing; if anything, he deepened his bow. Milla sighed impatiently.

"You say Ivar isn't here?"

"Yes, but he should have returned by now. We're worried about him."

"I see. He always did have a short temper." It was hard to tell, but Milla almost looked annoyed. "Please, return to your work." Milla turned and gave us a look, and I knew that it was expected we follow her.

"What's next?" I asked.

"I need to perform the ritual to resummon the Four at my shrine, but it would seem my handmaid is away. Would you mind lending a hand?"

"What?" Jude looked confused. "You mean we can help you?"

"I'm not exactly a religious scholar," said Alvin, and I had to hold back a laugh. That much was obvious.

"It's nothing difficult," she assured us. "The village has four altars, each with a temporal stone. In order for the ritual to work, I'll need those stones brought to my shrine. They're rather large, otherwise I would be able to do it myself."

"Why not just ask the villagers for help?" Alvin suggested.

"You saw what just happened," Milla replied, motioning to a couple of worshipping villagers as we passed by them. "Except for my handmaid, I don't really fraternize with the villagers. They can barely look at me, let alone hold a conversation.

Alvin shook his head in mock sympathy. "Ah, the trials of godhood. Well, I guess a little physical labour won't kill us, right kid?" He slapped Jude on the back.

"We can handle it," Jude agreed enthusiastically.

"My...upper arm strength is a little lacking," I admitted. "But my lilium orb thing should give me a little boost, I think. I mean, there's four of us, so...that makes one stone per person, right?"

"Exactly," said Milla, giving me an encouraging nod. "I appreciate the help." She then turned to Jude. "Don't worry, Jude. I'll explain your predicament to the villagers after the ceremony. Please be patient for just a little longer."

"Ah, sure," he said awkwardly, ducking his head to stare at the ground.

"The shrine lies beyond the village," Milla informed us. "Let's split up, find the stones, and then meet back here. If you get lost, simply ask the villagers for assistance."

I glanced around the village. It wasn't very big. I doubted it would be very easy to get "lost" here at all, but I acknowledged Milla's advice all the same, and the four us split up to find the stones.

I wandered down the path, feeling self-conscious about my boots messing up the pattern traced into the dirt. I felt bad, but I remembered Milla mentioning something about how the elders in this village traced this pattern every single day. Something about self...meditation, or something.

I paused as I passed over a bridge. There was an opening in the railing, and a path of stepping-stones in the stream leading to one of the altars Milla had been talking about. A stone sat inside of it, blue in colour and roughly the size of a basketball. It looked...heavy.

Sighing, I lowered myself onto the rocks and very carefully made my way across to the altar. I was almost there when I heard the sound – a strangled, high-pitched yelp, like that of a cat in pain. I glanced past the altar and saw it – a small, orange cat, struggling to keep itself afloat in the current of the stream. The water was terribly deep; it was probably only up to my knees, but it was definitely too much for the kitten.

"Hold on!" I called out to it, hopping down into the water. The water instantly soaked through my tights, chilling my bones, but I ignored it and pushed through the current towards the kitten. The stream dipped down a hill and behind one of the huts when I finally caught up to it, scooping the shivering little guy up into my arms and holding him to my chest. I pulled myself up onto the grass, keeping him wrapped in my arms.

"It's okay," I assured him gently. "You're fine now, buddy."

"You're always going to fall for that little trick, aren't you?"

I realized my mistake far too late, as the kitten disappeared from my arms, and the familiar accent seemed to stab through me like...a needle. Now, I understood everything – why that dog from the very first day had seemed to vanish before my very eyes. Magic. Spirit artes. Things were never as they seemed.

Shaking, I rose slowly to my feet, and when I turned around, I came face to face with the very same bitch who'd started all of this.

"I fear I may have been a touch rude the last time we met," she said delicately, her red lips pulling into a smile that was full of hidden venom. "I apologize. My name is Blair."

_"She's gone. That's all that matters. Blair is gone."_

I froze as Keegan's words came rushing back to me, nearly taking my breath. Blair? It wasn't possible. Keegan had told me...

"Blair?" I whispered, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. "But Keegan said...you were in there. You're _helping _him?"

She said nothing. The two of us stared at each other for a moment in silence. I wasn't quite sure how to react, what she was going to do – she just stood there, that blank, serene smile on her face. She wasn't even going to say anything? She didn't even have the decency to try and explain herself?

Did Keegan even know she was alive?

Eventually, something in me snapped. A sudden burst of anger swelled up inside of me, and then I was charging at her. She did nothing to stop me as I crashed into her, and the two of us went tumbling into the river with a loud splash.

* * *

**Phew! Lots of game plot in this chapter, so I thought I'd leave you with something exciting. **

**After editing this with the changes I made to Blair's character, this ending packs much more of a punch.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Rite Of The Four's Advent

**When I'd originally posted this chapter, I'd just finished second year of university and now I'm graduating this year so my update times for this have majorly sucked. Hopefully now that it's rewritten the way I want it, things will be better!**

**DISCLAIMER: Since I literally always forget to put one of these, I think it's obvious that I don't own any of these characters, and that they belong to the Tales franchise! (except for the ones that don't, obviously)**

* * *

The current of the stream wasn't strong, but it took me what felt like several minutes nonetheless to find my way back to the surface. When I did, I immediately pounced on Blair again, using all the strength I could to hold her head under the water.

She, naturally, was stronger, and was able to fling me off of her with ease. As soon as I was pushed back, she lunged at me, keeping me pressed to the riverbed with a knife to my throat.

"You're brave," she hissed, using her free hand to grab a fistful of my hair and yank my head back to expose my throat. I started to tremble as I felt the cold steel gently rest against my neck. "I have to say, I find it rather unexpected that you would actually try to drown me like that. I did not take you for a killer." She pressed the knife down a little more, and my breathing hitched. "Tell me, would you truly have done it?"

I didn't answer straight away. All I could do for a minute was stare into her wide doe-eyes, blank and unfocused and _dangerous. _Despite the fact that it probably went against the rules of her job, I had no trouble imagining her slitting my throat right now. Even knowing that, how could I ever willingly kill another human being? I heaved a shuddering sigh, my throat thick with fear and the threat of crying.

"I-I don't know," I replied. "I don't want anyone to die. I just know that I can't go back to that place. Please don't take me. _Please._" My voice broke and tears I hadn't felt I was holding came spilling down my cheeks. "You of all people should understand."

"Have a bit of responsibility," she said, making a light "tsk" noise with her tongue. "Don't you realize your role in this situation? You only remained with Dr. Elias for a short time. You are painfully unaware of how things operate. The rest of us served our time until our purpose was fulfilled. However, in _your_ case..."

"Please." I sniffed back my tears to give her a fierce look. "I don't know what happened to make you like this, but it's _wrong. _We should be helping each other! Keegan is going to get us home. I don't think he even knows that you're - "

"I'm tired of talking about this," she said with a sigh. She pressed the knife down harder against my neck, and I felt a choking pain as it bit into my skin. "Shall we make a deal? Come quietly, and perhaps I can convince Dr. Elias to explain things for you. Only if you cooperate. What do you say?"

"I'm not...c-coming..." I started coughing, my throat muscles convulsing around the blade and making the pain worse. "Please...p-_please_..."

The knife was suddenly wrenched away from my neck, and I didn't bother looking for my saviour right away. So grateful for air, I let out a choked gasp and collapsed to my knees, the water rising up to my chest. My eyes were blurry with thick tears, but I could see that the water was becoming tainted with blood. Who was bleeding?

Oh...I was.

"Get your hands off of me, _spirit," _Blair spat.

"I won't tolerate you attacking my companions," Milla said calmly. I didn't look up, but I assumed she had Blair by the hair.

I felt gentle hands on my shoulders and I flinched, letting out a whimper.

"Hey! It's just me," Jude. Safe, kind, Jude. My frantic nerves calmed themselves a bit.

"J-Jude...I'm so sorry. She was going to take me back..." I glanced up at him. His amber eyes were filled with concern. Confusion. "I-I'm sorry, Jude."

"Stop apologizing," he said gently. With a bit of hesitation, he held his hands towards my neck. I wasn't so much of a mess that I wasn't able to realize he wanted to heal me. I fell still, and was able to breathe more easily once the soothing light from his hands passed across my throat.

"You're outnumbered," Alvin chimed in from...somewhere. Up on the bank, maybe. "I don't know what you want with the girl, but you're not getting near her now. You're better off leaving while you still can."

Blair, who'd managed to break free from Milla's grasp at this point, glared up at him. As she did, her expression softened back to that same, dreamy state it always seemed to be in, and she seemed to come to some sort of conclusion.

"You're absolutely right." Despite the fact that she was standing at the other end of Milla Maxwell's sword, Blair looked completely calm. Her eyes slowly flitted from person to person until they finally fell on me. "This isn't the end, little mouse. Dr. Elias will have you back." With that, she climbed up onto the riverbank and started sprinting away.

"H-Hey!" Jude called out angrily, quickly moving to follow suit. "We can't just let her get away like that!"

"Let her go," said Alvin calmly, waving a dismissive hand. "As long as we're around, she won't come back to try anything."

Jude scowled at him. "I'm not sure how I feel about you letting all of the mysterious women who attack us escape, Alvin."

I cast my eyes down to the water. I didn't want to say anything, but I agreed with Jude. That cat-ears girl had been one thing – I didn't doubt Milla could handle herself if it came down to it. But now that he was brushing aside the very girl who brought me here? I mean, it wasn't like he _knew _that Blair was the one who brought me here, but I was assuming it was pretty obvious what she'd come after me for today. I was weak. I couldn't defend myself if she caught me alone again. What was he thinking? Hurt and panic mixed behind my eyes and I almost started crying again.

"Hey, if you want to go pick a fight with that fox, be my guest," said Alvin. "As things stand now, though, there wouldn't be much point running after her. She won't be back unless she's certain she can get Maggie alone."

"And you know all of this for certain?" Milla questioned him, quirking an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Hey. It's what I would do."

I could tell Jude wanted to push the topic further, but he let out a frustrated sigh instead and turned back to me.

"Are you okay? What did she want?"

"I-I don't know," I lied, keeping my eyes downward. "She mostly was saying a lot of crazy stuff. I-I don't think she's all there, to be honest."

"Ivar's house is nearby," said Milla. "If you would like to wait there while we–"

"N-No I'm fine!" I assured her hastily, jumping to my feet. "Really. I don't want to be alone. I'll come with you guys – you'll probably need a fourth person's help carrying these things anyway."

Milla eyed me carefully. I was pretty sure she was starting to suspect something was up, but she didn't push it.

"Very well. The temporal stone of water rests on the altar just ahead. If you're okay to carry it, we should get moving. I would like to have the Four at my side as soon as possible."

"Right." I climbed out of the river, ignoring Alvin when he tried to offer a hand to help me up. I winced after I did it. _That_ was probably going to cost me some dramatic, confrontational conversation that I didn't feel like dealing with. At the moment, however, I was too overwhelmingly _pissed off _to care about that. I quickly hurried back to the altar and hopped down onto the stepping-stones.

The temporal stone was as heavy as I'd expected. I managed to lug it back to the bridge, where I had, thankfully, set my bag down. I slung the bag over my shoulder and then awkwardly cradled the stone in my arms. The others had set theirs down on the bridge as well, each one a different colour – red, green and yellow.

"So, um, how far is the shrine, exactly?" I asked, already feeling the strain of holding the stone in my arms.

Milla gestured towards the mountain in the distance. "My shrine rests at the foot of the Nia Khera Hallowmont."

"The Hallowmont, huh?"

She nodded. "It's a special place where four spirit climes meet."

With my limited knowledge of spirit climes and how they worked, I wasn't really sure what that meant, or even what that might look like. Either way, it sounded appropriate for someone like the Lord of Spirits to live in a place like that. Definitely more appropriate than this sleepy little village.

"It looks pretty far," was all I said.

"Well, let's get moving, shall we?" Alvin cheerfully suggested. I bit into my lip in an effort to fight back the sharp spike of annoyance just hearing him talk was giving me. I hated it. I didn't want to be mad at Alvin – he was doing so much for me. Still, he had to know how scared I was, even more so than Jude. I couldn't help it. Why was he being so nonchalant?

I silently followed the others as they headed through the northernmost arch in the village. I was surprised to find that the pattern traced on all of the paths in Nia Khera was still visible the further we got from the village. The path snaked through a thin forest of autumn-coloured trees, a brilliantly blue sky stretching over us.

Now that the feeling of being angry towards Alvin had settled in and become familiar, I allowed myself to think about the bigger picture. My mind was racing, combing back over every second of that encounter with Blair.

Had I missed something? Was there some kind of way that it could have been a _different _Blair? I desperately searched for something - _anything_ that could tell me I was wrong. That I'd misinterpreted the situation somehow. A moment, a phrase.

But I knew there was no way I was wrong. Blair had said it herself. Something about "doing her time". I'd assumed from the way Keegan spoke about her that she'd just died like the other girl, but I realized now that wasn't entirely what he meant. There was something weird in his expression when he'd said she was "gone". Something angry and pained.

Was this what he had meant? This dreamy, evil person couldn't have been the same person he'd grown to know and care for in that lab. Granted, I was reading a lot between the lines here, but that was only because Keegan hadn't given me much to work with. What had happened for the two of them to end up on such different paths?

That same fierce anger I'd felt before tackling Blair bubbled up in my chest again. How could she be working for that monster? I remembered the helpless, terrified feeling of being strapped to that table and realized she would have gone through it for much longer than me. I would never in a million years willingly put someone through that same kind of torture. I'd rather die, I think.

Had Keegan known all along that Blair was the one who'd taken me here? Maybe he hadn't told me because it was too painful for him. I had so many questions - more than ever, I wished we'd just stayed together so I could have them answered.

Jude eventually noticed that I was lagging behind a bit, no doubt looking sad and contemplative. The only contribution I was really making to the conversation was a barely-disguised look of annoyance that surfaced whenever Alvin cracked some kind of joke.

"Is...everything okay?" Jude asked hesitantly, hanging back so that Alvin and Milla wouldn't hear.

"Mhm," I replied quietly, staring at the ground. Jude didn't say anything, but his silence was filled with this judgey vibe that prompted me to continue speaking nonetheless. "Well, I mean...to an extent. I don't know." Without thinking, I glanced ahead at Alvin, and Jude noticed.

"Right..." He followed my gaze for a moment before giving me a sympathetic smile. "You know, I don't think he meant any harm by letting her go..."

I gave him a scowl. I had stopped thinking about Alvin altogether at this point, but my anger towards him resurfaced with Jude's words.

"Well yeah, but still. I mean, I get that Alvin is Mr. Carefree and likes to act super chill, but that doesn't give him the right to do stuff like this. You don't just let _criminals_ run off, do you? You do something about it. Why is this any different?"

"I guess..." He trailed off, looking troubled. "Listen...are you sure you don't know who that girl was? You seemed pretty shaken up back there...a-and you seemed to know what she wanted, at the very least."

I started chewing on my lip and refused to say anything. What was wrong with me? Why had I entrusted such a ridiculous story to Alvin of all people, but I couldn't do the same to trustworthy, caring Jude? Maybe it was because Jude already had enough bullshit to deal with on his own. Maybe it was because Alvin had kind of coerced it out of me as "payment" or whatever. I didn't know. I _wanted _to tell Jude everything, but something was holding me back.

"I don't," I finally told him. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay," he said, looking unconvinced but smiling all the same. He shifted the weight of the temporal stone in his arms and motioned towards Alvin. "Still...I think you should talk to him. He's taking you to Sharilton, right? It'd be awkward for the both of you if you're not talking to him the whole time."

I sighed heavily. "Maybe."

We continued the walk to Milla's shrine. Several times it happened that we were ambushed by monsters – spirity looking butterflies that mostly used magic, which stung like a _bitch. _There were more goblins as well, only these ones were even weirder-looking and looked like giant mushrooms.

I hate mushrooms. It wasn't difficult to find the motivation to attack them.

Anyway, whenever this happened, we'd all be forced to set down our respective stones and fight. Battling that giant rock monster back at the seafalls had loosened me up a bit when it came to fighting. After going up against something so frightening, the smaller guys just weren't as scary anymore, and now that Jude and I were "linked", I felt so much more confident.

Don't get me wrong. On the inside, I was still petrified. Every time my sword sliced through real flesh, I felt this sharp spike of anxiety, and once the actual battles ended, it took ages for me to calm myself down. Still, physically, I was getting better. I wasn't nearly as helpful as Milla, or Alvin, or even Jude – but I was getting better. I was contributing _something _other than just standing there like an idiot, and that was enough for me, for the moment.

Eventually, the woods began to thicken, and the path we walked on began to slope upwards. We soon reached a long, straight staircase that stretched up to the top of a hill. An arch, similar to the ones present in Nia Khera, could be seen at the top. We'd made it.

"The shrine rests at the top of these stairs," Milla informed us. "Shall we?"

By this point, I was pretty out of breath. Our trek hadn't been hightailing-it-from-the-seahaven-to-Hamil-super-quickly kind of tiring, but the upwards slope, _plus_ fighting, _plus _carrying these freaking concrete basketballs was beginning to take a toll on me. I eyed the stairs wearily.

Alvin slapped me on the back. "Let's get moving, city girl!"

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, my mood immediately plummeting further. I followed the others up the stairs, feeling like both my lungs and my arms were going to disintegrate by the time we reached the top.

I forgot about my worries, though, when I took in the sight of the shrine. It was _beautiful. _In shape, it was quite similar to the round huts in Nia Khera, but it was much larger, and much nicer-looking. It sat nestled in a clearing, the looming Hallowmont standing tall behind it and looking much closer than it had before. A gloomy haze hung over the clearing, shrouding the whole sight in an air of mystery – perfect for Milla.

"In here," said Milla.

"Is this your house?" Jude asked, looking impressed.

Milla glanced at the building. "My house? I've never really thought about it that way, but I suppose so."

Alvin let out a low whistle. "Boy, you're _really_ in the sticks. What do you do for fun out here?"

"My mission is not to entertain myself," she said sternly. Her face soon softened slightly, though. "I do spend time reading books written by humans, if you must know."

"Sounds...fun?" Alvin tried.

"Let's perform the ceremony," Milla said, abruptly turning on her heel and heading into the shrine.

The inside of the shrine was relatively bare, furniture-wise. Various coloured streamers hung from the ceiling, and in the centre of the circular room was an altar. A decorative curtain hung against the back wall. Torches were lit. Someone must have been taking care of this place in Milla's absence. That handmaid of hers, maybe?

Milla was already hard at work. She'd found sticks of chalk, and was currently in the middle of drawing a complex design on the circular floor – I assumed it was some sort of spell circle. There were intricate, smaller circles in each direction, each a different colour – red, green, yellow and blue. She had already set her stone in its respective circle. Jude hesitantly followed suit.

"Like this?" he asked, setting the green stone on the green circle.

"Perfect," Milla replied, motioning for Alvin and me to do the same. She thanked us once all four stones were in the right position, and then sat herself down cross-legged in the middle of all of them.

"I feel like we should stand back," I whispered, backing myself up against the wall. Jude and Alvin joined me, and we watched in quiet awe as the scene unfolded before us.

Milla closed her eyes. Her hands started glowing, and she began to use them to replicate the design on the floor...except the design was appearing in the air before her, like mag...oh. I guess it really was magic. I closed my mouth, which had dropped open at the sight, and kept watching.

As her hands met each direction on the circle, a flash of colour erupted from each. My jaw dropped again as she raised her arms, and a large circle of light stretched over the room, shooting down coloured beams over the temporal stones. I couldn't remember my first experience with fireworks, but I imagined that this feeling was probably something similar – only a million times _cooler._

Cool, that is, until I heard a faint cracking noise. I glanced at the blue stone in front of us, caught the line that was beginning to break across the surface, and then was forced to squeeze my eyes shut as all four stones simultaneously exploded.

Milla let out a shocked gasp and slumped over, reaching a hand out to catch herself. Her breathing was heavy.

"Milla!" Jude exclaimed, reaching out to her. There was a moment where the three of us could do nothing but stare at her, waiting for her to say something as the smoke around her cleared.

"Lady Milla!" I felt myself stumble as something – or rather, _someone_ – came bolting through the door, plowing into the three of us in an effort to get by.

The newcomer came to a stop in front of Milla, gracefully falling into a kneel before her. He had silver hair, tied up in a ponytail that fell over his shoulder as he bowed his head. The skin from his shoulder to his elbow was exposed, and I could see that it was quite tan.

"Oh," said Milla, rubbing her head. "Is that you, Ivar?"

"Lady Milla! I was worried sick!" he lamented. He finally lifted his head in favour of looking around at the state of the room – at the shattered pieces of coloured rock on the floor. "This looks like the rite of the Four's Advent...why would you perform such a ritual?" He then quickly rose to his feet, glancing around in alarm. "Wait...what's going on here? Efreet, where are you? Undine, come out!" He had a serious face, with sharp green eyes. He turned them to Milla, looking even more worried than before. "Lady Milla, what has happened?"

Milla gave him a long, serious look before speaking.

"I should think it would be obvious by now. I can no longer summon the Four Great Spirits."

His eyes widened. "What?! How is this possible?"

"It happened in Fennmont," Jude chimed in, coming over to settle on the floor beside them. The dude who I was pretty sure was Ivar gave him a suspicious look, as though only just realizing the rest of us were here. "There was this giant weapon, a-and–"

"Who are these _people, _Lady Milla?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. I didn't appreciate his tone.

"They have helped me in my journey," Milla told him simply. "And what Jude said was true. I travelled to Fennmont to destroy the Lance of Kresnik but there were...unforeseen consequences. The Lance activated, and the Four were taken from me. I have not been able to contact them since. I had hoped performing the rite of the Four's Advent might work, but..." She trailed off. Her face had grown hard. None of us really knew what to say, I think.

"I cannot believe it," said Ivar, shaking his head.

Alvin strolled over to join the rest of them, crouching down and resting his elbow on his knee, resting his face on that fist. I awkwardly joined him, kneeling between him and Jude.

"So, why do you think you can't summon the spirits?" he asked. "Are they dead or something?"

"Idiot!" Ivar snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Alvin. Okay, I take back what I said about him having a serious face. He was clearly the type to get easily riled up, as evidenced by his dramatically angry expression. "A Great Spirit cannot die!"

"Was I...supposed to know that?" Alvin muttered to Jude and me.

Ivar relaxed his arm and broke into his explanation. "Just like a lesser spirit, a Great Spirit becomes a fossil when it passes away. Yet its power transfers into the next Great Spirit!" As he spoke, he was dramatically reaching towards the heavens, as though he was some great prophet giving us some kind of earth-shattering revelation. I didn't really know how to react.

"At least that's what they say," said Jude, giving the perfect deadpan to match with Ivar's flair. "Nobody's ever seen it happen."

"Ah, so I've heard," said Alvin. He mostly just looked bored.

"That's blasphemy!" Ivar exclaimed. "Spirits are undying beings that dwell in the spirit world! It's beyond your understanding!" His face grew deadly serious, and he shook his fist. I was quickly finding it harder and harder to take this guy seriously.

"Hm..." Jude brought a finger to the side of his head. I recognized the mannerism – he was tapping into that built-in textbook he had for a brain. "Well, maybe that device _captured_ the Four Great Spirits instead of killing them."

Milla stared at him thoughtfully.

"Impossible!" said Ivar, jabbing a finger in Jude's direction. "Mere humans could never capture the Great Four!"

"But, the Four Great Spirits aren't answering their lord's summons," Jude insisted. "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"If you leave an egg in a box, and somehow that egg should get crushed, the cause must lie within the egg itself." When Jude glanced at him in surprise, Alvin chuckled and said, "Good old Howe's Egg Principle. You really are an honours student."

I nodded thoughtfully and acted like I'd heard of that saying, even though I was quickly becoming lost. "So that means that even if it shouldn't be possible, it's the most likely scenario that the Great Spirits were captured by that machine, right?"

Ivar looked like he was about to bust a vein. He was clenching his fists so hard they were shaking, and I could swear his lip was twitching.

Milla was staring at the floor, deep in thought. "A spyrix advanced enough to capture even the Four. When that happened...I then lost my power as Maxwell."

"Milla..."

Jude's voice broke her out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened, as though she had come to some sudden realization. She rose to her feet and turned her back on all of us, walking towards her altar. As soon as she'd come back to us, it appeared she'd become lost in her thoughts once again.

Ivar scrambled to his feet and placed himself between us and Milla. He spread his arms out defiantly.

"Now, you will all leave. This is holy ground and you'll desecrate it no more!"

"Seriously?" I said, staring at him in disbelief.

"I'm never anything _but_ serious," he informed me gravely. "I'm the only one ordained to serve Lady Milla!" And then, as if to _completely _contradict that first bit of what he said, he struck a dramatic pose, tilting his head back and pointing at himself with his thumb, giving us a toothy grin. I swear to _God _I saw a sparkle come from one of his teeth. It was _that _typical of a cheesy, anime pose. Was he for real? Did Rieze Maxia even _have _anime? I didn't even think they had TV.

"Ivar, please leave as well," said Milla. "You can go home."

"Huh?!" He broke out of his pose to whirl around and gape at Milla.

"Let me see, how should I put this...?" She let her words linger in a long pause before sending him something just short of a glare. "You're annoying."

I bit back a laugh as he suddenly sank in on himself like a deflated balloon, his face going from pure shock to teary-eyed disbelief. He sullenly followed the rest of us out of the shrine.

I felt awkward just leaving without saying goodbye to Milla, but at the same time it didn't feel like she was in the mood to talk. The four us silently stood in the clearing, unsure of what to do. Were we supposed to wait until she reached some kind of decision?

Ivar was livid. He stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot angrily until he finally found the words to speak.

"Lady Milla wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't for you blasphemous fools!" He exploded, his arms flying as he pointed at Jude's back from every direction. Jude kept his back turned, lost in his own thoughts as well.

"Is that so?" I muttered, absently fiddling with my lilium orb. I was half-tuning him out too, my troubled mind drifting back to my own problems.

"It is!" he exclaimed, not even bothering to look back at me. For the love of Maxwell! I knew I never should have left her side!"

"Milla wasn't kidding about his short fuse," Alvin said to me, motioning towards the way Ivar was pretty much sinking to his knees in despair.

Jude suddenly started walking away, prompting Ivar to chase after him and grab him by the shoulder.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"Uh, yeah," said Jude. He had this dopey look on his face, like he'd just woken up from a nap or something. "I mean...huh?"

"Hmph! Heed my words!" Ivar stared him down defiantly. "Henceforth, only _I _shall serve the Lady Milla! Interfere at your peril!"

"For the love of..." Alvin shook his head at the whole fiasco while Jude just kind of stared at Ivar in stun. Then Alvin suddenly glanced over his shoulder, looking alert.

"W-What is it?" I asked, feeling panic swell up in my gut at the sight of _him _looking nervous.

"It's nothing," he said, but the look didn't leave his face, and I found it hard to believe him. Ivar had stomped off down the stairs, leaving Jude looking understandably pissed.

Alvin broke away and headed over to Jude. "You gonna stick around?"

"Y-Yeah," said Jude, his eyes trailing over to the shrine.

Alvin clapped him on the shoulder. "Cool. I'll be back at the village."

As Alvin started to walk away, I glanced between him and Jude. The feeling in my gut refused to leave me. For some reason, I had a bad feeling. I didn't even know what it was, but something about it prompted me to make a decision.

"W-Wait!" I called out, running after him.

"Hm?"

"I'm coming with you," I said quickly. "These woods kind of sketch me out." That was a total lie. I felt completely at ease here, for some reason. Maybe it was the...abundance of spirits. As if I could feel something like that. Regardless, I wanted to go with him. At the very least, it would allow me the chance to sort things out with him.

"Uh...sure." He looked surprised, but quickly wiped the look from his face in favour of that trademark smirk of his. "Can't stand to be without my company for very long, can you?"

"Whatever," I sighed. I offered Jude a smile. "You going to be okay by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," he assured me. "I'm sure I'll see you before the two of you set off for Sharilton."

"Right." With that, Alvin and I set off down the stairs, leaving Jude alone in the clearing.

Alvin and I didn't speak for the first little while of walking. Regardless of if he could sense I was still angry at him or not, something seemed to be troubling him as well...okay maybe not _troubling _him, exactly, but he still seemed put off. No snide remarks or teasing jabs. I decided to break the silence.

"Look...about earlier."

He currently had his arms outstretched, hands folded behind his head. He gave me a curious glance.

"With...that woman," I clarified. I suddenly felt very flustered and stared at my hands. I picked at a hangnail as I continued. "When you just brushed it off like that...it made me angry. You understand where she came from, right?"

"Ah, that." He let out a breath and closed his eyes. "Look, I get why you'd be pissed at me. Really, I do. You don't wanna end up some freak's experiment again. But you have to trust me – I wouldn't have let her go if I thought she posed a real threat."

"She had a knife pressed to my throat," I said, fighting to keep the irritation out of my voice. "I'd say that's a pretty big threat."

"She's clearly insane," he retorted, rolling his eyes. "Are you kidding me? She was a twig. The only strengths she has going for her are her looks, and her insanity. She got the jump on you, that's all. Do you really think she would have been able to drag you all the way back to Fort Gandala by herself? You're a tough kid – you _somehow _escaped that place the first time, with its military defenses and whatnot. I can't see some crazy chick like her getting the best of you."

_But she almost did..._

"She did the first time," I told him quietly as I thought back on that day. "She lured me in. Tricked me. She wasn't alone, then. She had someone working with her. I never saw his face, though."

"Huh...strange she didn't have him with her this time around," he mused.

"Yeah...maybe she's getting desperate or something. She...said something, to me." I felt my stomach twist at the memory. I still hadn't fully made sense of it in my head. How was I supposed to verbalize it to Alvin? I thought of what Elias had said about the other subjects. They'd either escaped or croaked. That summed up Keegan and Stacy pretty neatly, but where did that leave Blair?

"Maggie?"

Alvin's voice brought me back to reality. I blinked quickly and looked at him.

"S-Sorry."

He tilted his head curiously. "What did she tell you?"

"Oh, um...she's crazy, like you said. It's probably nothing, but...she made it seem like she'd been through the same thing. Like she'd been...experimented on, or whatever."

"That so?" Alvin mulled this over, looking up at the sky like it was going to hold some kind of answer. "In that case, maybe she's been brainwashed."

"Brainwashed?"

"Yeah, you know..." He waved a hand as he searched for words. "Maybe the experiments messed her up somehow, and now she thinks she's on their side."

I didn't say anything, but just let his words sink in. Could that have been true? Could all that time being experimented on have really messed up Blair's brain that badly? I suddenly remembered her ability to catch me off guard with magically conjured animals. How could that have been possible? A spyrix? Or had one of the serums actually worked at the cost of her sanity? None of it made sense. None of it seemed possible.

But then I thought about that "Egg Principle" that Alvin and Jude had been talking about in Milla's shrine. "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." When I thought about it like that, it seemed like there was no other possibility.

"Ah, it hurts my head to think about it," I finally said with a frustrated groan. I was just going to have to ask Keegan about it all when I finally saw him again. He would know the answer.

"Yeah. It doesn't matter anyway!" He gave me a confident grin. "I'm going to get you to Sharilton safe and sound. You'll be fine – I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

"Thanks, Alvin," I said, smiling. _I sure hope that turns out to be the case._

* * *

We eventually reached the village again. Talking with Alvin had cleared up some of my worries. I still wasn't 100 percent okay with him letting Blair go, but I was a bit more confident in his intentions, anyway.

"Why did you want to come to the village, anyway?" I asked him after we'd walked through the big arch. "Is everything okay?"

"Naturally!" he replied casually. "I just feel like old Maxwell up there is going to be a while, and Jude doesn't seem like very good company to be with at the moment. Figured I'd come down here and revel in the fresh air."

"You're full of shit," I sighed. "But I'm not going to push it."

He gave me a shameless grin. "I like the way you operate, kid."

"_Stop,_" I said, giving him a light push, "calling me kid."

He slung an arm around my shoulder. "C'mon now, lighten up! Why don't we go for a walk around the village? Take in the...uh, sights."

This was enough to make me laugh. I shrugged out of his grip and the two of us began walking down the village path. We didn't get very far, however, before an elderly man approached us.

"You there!" he called, hurrying (well, as much as someone of _his _age was able to hurry, anyway) over to us. "Would I be correct in assuming the two of you are responsible for Lord Maxwell's safe return?"

"Uh, well sort of, I guess..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"She hired me for my services," Alvin quickly cut in. "I'm a mercenary. Maggie here is another one of my clients. Can I help you with something?"

The man's eyes widened. "Hired! Well, I hope that you haven't received your payment yet."

"I haven't," said Alvin, looking all-too happy at the prospect of getting paid. "Why do you ask?"

"It would not be right for Lord Maxwell to pay for your services out of her own funds," the man told him. "I would be honoured to donate to the cause myself in her stead. W-Wait right here! I will be back soon." He started to leave, but stopped and abruptly turned around again, bowing and saying, "Thank you for looking after Lord Maxwell. You saved our spirit!"

"No, thank _you_!" Alvin waved as the man hobbled away, and I couldn't help but give him a glare.

"Swindling money out of old men, Alvin?"

"Hey now, he offered! Besides, if Milla ends up having a problem with it, she can tell him so." He settled down into the grass, leaning against the arch we had entered through. He gave me another shameless smile and patted the grass beside him. "C'mon. Let's take a break. Those poor little city legs of yours are probably on fire, huh?"

I eyed the grass longingly. "M-Maybe..."

He said nothing, but patted the grass again.

I sighed and collapsed into the grass beside him, immediately sprawling out on my back. My legs screamed their thanks for _finally _giving them a break.

"I'm gonna fall asleep," I mumbled, closing my eyes to shield them from the sun.

"As is your right," said Alvin, sounding amused.

The two of us remained like that for...well, I lost track of time, to be honest. It felt like I hadn't had a proper chance to sit down since leaving the seahaven. My sleep in Hamil had been _rudely _interrupted by a certain smug mercenary, and sleeping on the hard ground outside...well, it was hard for me to qualify that as rest. However, the grass here in Nia Khera felt especially soft, like a plush carpet. I didn't want to leave it.

"So what's waiting for you in Sharilton?" Alvin asked conversationally.

"Uh, my house?" I replied, not quite understanding the question.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, and I felt him lightly flick me in the forehead. "I meant...why go back? I get that it's your home and stuff but if I were you, I'd be staying as far away from Rashugal as I could. Especially Sharilton. It's so close to Fort Gandala."

"I-I know that," I said quietly, slowly opening my eyes. I mentally picked shapes out of the fluffy clouds in the sky. The blue was starting to give way to a faint pink. The sun was beginning to set. "But, that's where my brother thinks I should go. It's my home. I'm not sure how he's going to ensure that I stay safe there, but..." I trailed off, shrugging. "I trust him. He wouldn't lead me astray."

"You're not scared?"

"Of course I am!" I said, perhaps a little too loudly. I reluctantly sat up and gave him a scowl. "I'm terrified! But I can't just start some new life in Auj Oule and ignore all of my problems. My brother...he's working to fix things, somehow. I know he is. I'll be safe."

He gave me this long, searching look before shrugging and leaning back against the post again. "Whatever you say! I guess you're paying me to get you there safely, not judge your choices."

"That's the idea," I said mockingly.

More time passed, and finally, the sound of footsteps approaching roused me out of the very light sleep I had drifted into. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the old man from what now felt like forever ago. However, I was surprised to find that it was Milla and Jude who were approaching us instead.

"Took ya long enough," said Alvin, standing up to greet them. "I didn't expect to see Milla with you."

I reluctantly pulled myself to my feet and joined Alvin.

"Did you reach a decision?" I asked, looking hesitantly between the two of them.

"Yeah," said Jude, looking resolute. "I'm going with Milla."

"Jude..." I stared at him in shock. That was the last thing I had expected to come out of his mouth. Alvin shared my sentiments.

"Whoa, you're quite the flip-flopper! I thought you regretted getting involved."

"True, but I've made my decision to help her, and I'm sticking to it," said Jude. He gave Milla a determined smile – one that she returned, to my surprise.

"Is that right?" Alvin turned away, looking baffled.

"That's...really brave of you, Jude," I said. It was hard for me to find words. If I were him, I would have jumped at the opportunity to return to some semblance of a normal life. How could he so easily head back into danger like that again? It was something I was shocked to see in him. In someone so young.

He blushed. "I-I'm just trying to do what I can."

Milla, meanwhile, had stepped around so that she was back in Alvin's line of sight.

"Alvin, thanks for all of your help," she said graciously. Her eyebrows flew up as she realized something. "Oh! I almost forgot. We still need to pay you."

"Ah, yes. My fee." I could have smacked him. For half a second I really thought he was going to try and swindle more money out of Milla and Jude, but he quickly put my fears to rest. "We ran into some hayseed. He said he'd pay it."

"One of the villagers?" Jude asked, looking confused.

"Yep. He was nothing but gratitude, that one. Said it wouldn't be right for Lord Maxwell to pay out of her own pocket. He was practically bowing at our feet."

"I wish he was kidding," I piped up, sighing.

"Hmm, that sounds like the elder," Milla agreed, nodding. She looked vaguely annoyed. "He shouldn't have offered. Alvin, I'll pay you myself."

"You need to learn how to read your people, Milla," Alvin told her, with a tone that warned me he was about to turn up the drama. "That old man was tickled pink to pay your debt. You'd _crush _him if you refused."

"You think so?" Milla looked concerned.

"I know so."

"_Anyway,_" I cut in, resisting the urge to pull an Ivar and shake my fist at Alvin, "he told us to wait here for him, but that was a while ago. We've just kind of been hanging around here since then – he said he'd be right back."

"He's still in the village, right?" said Jude.

Milla nodded. "Most likely. We should find him. I believe I know where his home is."

The three of us followed Milla as she led us through the village, eventually coming to a stop in front of one of the circular huts. She didn't bother knocking – I guess being the Lord of Spirits, you were kind of exempt from having to perform such courtesies – and opened the door so we could all pile in after her.

The elder was hunched over a shelf digging through some things, but he quickly rose when he heard us approach.

"L-Lord Maxwell! And your companions. Forgive me for making you wait." He did another one of those needlessly deep bows.

"Worry not," said Milla. "I heard you've prepared payment for Alvin.

"Yes, yes," the elder replied, rising from his bow. "The villagers all pitched in and collected a small fund ages ago. It's the least we can do to help you, Lord Maxwell. We're farmers, not fighters, after all."

She bowed her head slightly. "I see."

"Told you," Alvin said with a shrug.

Milla turned back towards the elder and smiled. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."

The elder bowed his head before approaching Alvin and handing him a coin purse. He weighed it in his palm before nodding at the elder and stowing it away in his jacket.

The elder returned to his duties, and Milla and Alvin turned back to Jude and me.

"So my debt is paid," Milla said to Alvin. "Thank you for everything."

"Yeah, thanks," Jude chimed in gratefully.

"It was fun!" he said cheerfully. "I guess I'll see you around, then."

I scowled and pulled him back as he tried to leave. "Just hold on a second!"

"Hm?"

"Jude, Milla...what are your plans now?" I asked nervously. The previously light air that had fallen over the group grew heavy again. "Are you going back to Fennmont?"

"I must destroy the Lance of Kresnik, and rescue the Four," Milla replied. "In order to do that, I must return to Fennmont. I wish to leave as soon as Jude is ready."

"W-Well, I mean..." I gulped. I'd grown used to Milla's rather intimidating presence, but the thought of asking anything of her still made me sort of nervous. "Why don't we keep travelling together? Until we get to the seahaven, that is. We're all going the same way, so wouldn't it make sense to stick together?"

Jude, who'd been looking particularly glum at the prospects of a goodbye, perked up at this.

"Hey, I don't see why not. What do you think, Milla?"

She thought it over for a moment. "Hmm...well, I see no problem in such a plan."

"Man, good thinking, kid!" Alvin exclaimed, slapping me on the back and letting out a hearty laugh.

"Stop doing that," I said in annoyance, jumping away from him. "Anyway, if that's the plan, then what should we do?"

"I'm sure the villagers would be happy to offer us their homes for the night," said Milla. "At the very least, I can convince Ivar. We should rest, and leave first thing tomorrow."

"I'm surprised a try-hard like you actually wants to take time to rest," said Alvin, raising his eyebrows.

"Without the Four, I am just as burdened by human inconveniences as you all," Milla informed him, looking somehow annoyed and amused at the same time. "It's fascinating, really. I feel quite tired."

"The novelty will wear off, I assure you," I said, stifling a yawn myself.

"Lady Milla!"

At that moment, Ivar suddenly burst through the door, hurrying over to Milla. I noticed Milla stiffen, as though she wasn't very excited to see him. I couldn't blame her – his personality was a little...grating.

He bowed his head before asking, "Will you be departing again?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning," Milla replied. "Look after the village."

"But I would rather accompany you!" he said boldly, placing his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. He shot a glare towards Jude. "I wouldn't _dare _leave your holy care in the hands of this blasphemous, uncouth, shifty, backstabbing stranger!"

"Jeez, he does _not _like Jude..." I whispered to Alvin, feeling extremely uncomfortable. I had that icky feeling that you get when you witness someone arguing with a cashier or something.

"Ivar!" Milla all-but snapped, and he visibly straightened and promptly focused his attention on her again. "Tell me again of your duty."

He looked taken aback. "M-My duty? Why, it is to serve you, Lady Milla."

"And what of your other duty?"

"Uh, to protect the people of Nia Khera..." He lowered his head. "Those who can't protect themselves."

"Exactly," said Milla. "And now you see why Jude shall accompany me on this journey."

Jude looked surprised to have been brought into the argument. Everyone in the room, including the elder, had been watching the exchange with bated breath.

"While _you_ fulfill your second duty," Milla finished.

"But Lady Milla!" Ivar protested, pointing at Jude. "You wouldn't have lost the Great Spirits if not for him!"

"No," Milla said firmly. "The fault was mine and mine alone. Indeed, if Jude hadn't been there..." And with this, she sent a thankful look in Jude's direction. "I might never have returned safely to Nia Khera."

"Thanks," said Jude, surprised even further into returning the smile. "I'm only trying to help."

"But Lady Milla–!"

"The matter is not open to debate." I was amazed at how patient Milla was able to act with him. I would have run out of patience the moment he walked through the door. "Will you abandon your duty to this village?"

Ivar faltered under her challenging stare. "N-No."

"Then it's settled. Jude and I, along with Alvin and Maggie, will be leaving tomorrow morning. May we stay in your home for the night?"

"O-Of course, Lady Milla!" Ivar immediately swooped into a bow, happy to be of _some _real help. "I will begin making dinner at once!" He rushed past us and out the door, and my stomach immediately growled at the mention of food.

"I'll be back before supper!" Alvin suddenly announced, and then he was on his way out the door.

"Where are you off to?" Jude asked, frowning.

"A man's gotta have _some _secrets!" he called over his shoulder, and then he was gone.

I sighed and shook my head. Whatever. I wasn't really concerned with whatever weird things Alvin was off getting up to. At the moment, the only pressing matters on my mind were a nice warm meal and a long, night's sleep.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day! :)**

**Next time: ELIIIIIIIIZEEEEEEE**


	8. Elize

**I'm getting super close to parts I've been excited to write about this whole time so! That's exciting**

**Anyway my small daughter is coming up here so that's exciting as well okay enjoy the chapter**

* * *

Ivar stood in the middle of his hut, furiously and expertly stirring at a large pot of bubbling stew. His sharp eyes were shooting daggers in Jude's direction, who was completely oblivious and was sending worried looks in Milla's direction, who was staring blankly into space, deep in thought. I was staring Ivar down nervously, worried he was going to snap and have another outburst at Jude, and Alvin (who'd waltzed back in several minutes ago) had picked up on this and was giving me an amused smirk that I could see out of the corner of my eye.

To clarify: Alvin was watching me, watching Ivar, watching Jude, watching Milla, watching...well, nothing. I stuck my bottom lip out to blow a piece of hair away from my face. The situation was so unbelievable that it bordered on comical. I felt like I was trapped in the middle of a bad sitcom or something.

"Uh, so," I said, probably a bit too loudly. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Ivar. That stew smells really good! What kind is it?"

"Of course it smells good," he all-but snapped, refusing to tear his eyes away from Jude. "It is a recipe that has been passed down in my family for generations. Something _you'd _know nothing about!"

"Uh..." I blinked in confusion. Had he really just gone vengeful anime protagonist on me? In a way that made absolutely zero sense? But I had a family...

"Good attempt," Alvin assured me quietly.

I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the wall, and the awkward silence re-ensued. Okay, so trying to pry conversation out of Ivar clearly wasn't going to work. Maybe that was for the best, though. I would have hated to risk upsetting him further and have him poison the stew or something like that – especially considering I was really looking forward to the stew. It was going to be the first warm, freshly cooked meal I'd had since landing in the seahaven several days ago. I'd been a picky eater back home, but with all of the walking and fighting and fearing for my life I'd been doing here, my appetite was pretty much a monster, and I was able to stomach almost anything.

Except for mushrooms. And tomatoes.

I was half-tempted to get up and go for a walk around the village to pass the time, but after the encounter I'd had with Blair earlier that day, I was too scared to go by myself. So instead, I sat there in total boredom until Ivar reluctantly announced that the stew was ready. This was enough to snap Jude and Milla out of their dazes, and we all gathered around to get some of it.

Ivar had been right to be cocky – it did taste pretty amazing. It was a thick, spicy broth filled with potatoes, carrots, onions, and some kind of meat that I didn't recognize, but was pretty good. I assumed it was probably meat from one of those weird rappig animals I'd seen grazing outside.

Regardless, I wolfed down the stew at an almost embarrassing speed and sighed contentedly when I was finished. We had all eaten with an air of awkward silence hanging over the room, and when Ivar announced that he had some duties to attend to and left, I felt very relieved.

"Hoo boy," Alvin said lightly once Ivar had left. "That handmaid of yours is a piece of work."

"I don't value his temper," Milla agreed, "but he is quite skilled."

"He said he's been serving you for years," Jude added. Now that Ivar was gone, he was actually acknowledging the fact that he existed. "What kind of things does he do for you?"

"Yes," said Milla, her face brightening slightly. "He cleans up the shrine, he runs errands – always with a lot of enthusiasm. He buys my clothes, and arranges them into outfits."

"What?" Jude's face reddened, because the subject was now on Milla's revealing clothing. He looked rather shocked.

I didn't blame him, but I wasn't shocked at all. In fact, everything finally made sense to me. Milla was dressed so ridiculously because she had someone like Ivar picking out her clothes for her. Typical male.

"Wow," said Alvin, choking back a laugh, eying Milla's outfit shamelessly. "Your handmaid has..._exquisite_ taste."

"Yes," Milla agreed obliviously, glancing down at her outfit. "The clothes are very comfortable. I quite like them."

"Yeah, they're great," Alvin agreed whole-heartedly, and I smacked him when Milla wasn't looking.

Jude and I volunteered to take the dishes to the river and wash them. The few bowls we'd used weren't much of a problem to transport – we just tossed them into the stew pot. However, the pot itself was a huge, cast iron one, and it was really freaking heavy. Jude and I struggled to carry it to a shallow section of the stream.

Once we had set the pot into the river, Jude plopped down into the grass and, sponge in hand, started scrubbing at the bowls. I had decided to tackle the pot on my own, and the two of us worked diligently until Jude had finished, and then it was just me scrubbing furiously at this one stubborn spot on the pot that Jude eventually pointed out was what he was pretty sure was just a rust stain.

As we were heading back to Ivar's hut, Alvin was walking out the door, and he grabbed my arm and tugged me away from the pot, causing Jude to stumble and almost drop it.

"Ow, what? What's wrong?" I asked, scowling at him.

"Training time," he said cheerfully. He reached down and pulled the training sword from where its sheath was attached to my belt. He held it in front of my face and gave it a little shake before taking my hand and forcing me to wrap my fingers around the handle.

I didn't bother holding back my groan. "Seriously? Can't I take the night off? Relax?"

"You're not going to want to train when we're spending all day walking on the way to Sharilton," he replied. "You'll need to get the practice in _sometime._"

"Does that mean you're not going to make me practice on those days?" I asked hopefully, but he simply gave me a shit-eating grin and dragged me away from the hut, forcing Jude to try and carry the pot back inside by himself.

"Now that Jude taught you how to link, I think we should start working on teaching you some artes," Alvin was saying as we headed towards a more open area – up a hill and towards a spacious field. "You know, something with some style – something that packs more of a punch."

I immediately felt warm with panic. "Uh, no, that's okay."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "And why is that?"

I wracked my brain for a suitable answer. I didn't have a mana lobe – how was I going to be able to use any fancy artes like Jude or Alvin or Milla could? Alvin was such a suspicious, prodding person that I felt like I wouldn't be able to get him to just brush off the fact that I just "couldn't use artes" like Jude had done. He would push, and pry, and try to get some real answers out of me – he would know I was hiding something.

Even now, he was approaching me slowly with this knowing look on his face. I felt suddenly very small under his searching gaze, and then he was right in front of me and I was frozen in place, staring straight ahead and focusing on the details of his scarf.

"I'm going to ask you something," he said, and his tone made my pulse quicken. "And you can lie if you want to, because I'm pretty sure I know the answer anyway. You can't use spirit artes – can you?"

Rather than trying to lie like I wanted to, I simply shook my head and muttered, "No."

To my surprise, he let out what sounded like a sympathetic sigh and took a few steps away from me. I cautioned a glance up at him, and he looked not at all surprised at my answer.

"Alvin?" I said hesitantly.

"It's okay," he said quietly, "because I'm going to let you in on a little secret of my own." He leaned forward, cupping a hand around his mouth, and I instinctively moved my ear towards him so that I was able to hear clearly when he whispered, "I can't use them either."

I jerked away from him in alarm. "W-What?! Seriously?"

"Hey, keep it down," he said, although there was a teasing grin hidden behind the "serious" look he was giving me. "I get why you don't really want people to know. It's not that normal, is it?"

I remembered Jude's surprise when I'd first told him. He was a medical student. He would know best of all if a..._condition _like mine was commonplace or not, and he certainly had seemed surprised.

"I guess it's not," was all I could say.

"Exactly. It's the same reason I don't tell people either. It's just hard to explain. But when I saw your reaction to Jude's healing artes, followed by the comment he made about your "situation"...well, I kinda put two and two together, you know?"

"Y-Yeah..." I stared blankly at him, confusion fogging my mind. "But...you can still use all of those cool attacks. You wouldn't be able to do that if you really...you know."

"That's the trick," he said, and he pulled his gun out of the holster on his hip. "This baby does all of the work for me. Know what it is?"

"A...gun?" I tried, continuing to stare blankly at him.

Something shifted in his expression upon hearing my answer, but he quickly hid it and his lips pulled into a smile.

"Exactly, kid. A gun. It's, uh, imbued with some spirit artes that work with my lilium orb and they...well, the easy explanation is that it helps me perform artes like that without actually having to do them. That way, no one can ever tell the difference."

I stared at him carefully. Something about his story seemed off. Was that kind of thing normal in Rieze Maxia? Sometimes I wished I could just have a little pocket-sized encyclopaedia so I'd be able to fact-check every time I thought Alvin was bullshitting me. It wasn't that he gave me much reason to doubt him when it really counted, but when it came to less-important things, I always felt like he was trying to play a prank on me.

"It must have been a rare find," I said finally, deciding to play it safe and just pretend to believe him for now. "I'll have to look for something similar once I get to Sharilton, huh?"

"I guess so." We both met each other with an even stare, and I thought maybe he was going to say more on the subject, but he didn't. "In any case, we can just stick to some basic skills for the time-being. If you want to get fancy on your own time, though, be my guest."

"Please, not everyone likes to be a show-off like you," I teased.

He shrugged shamelessly. He then suddenly lunged forward, and I had to bring my sword up in an effort to block him. Thus, the training commenced.

* * *

Alvin and I trained for the rest of the evening, and by the time the sun was gone from the sky, I felt like my arms were going to fall off. Still, I was proud to say that I actually managed to land a few hits on Alvin!

Okay, so maybe it was more like one. And _maybe _he had let his guard down on purpose to make me feel better about myself. I was still going to count it though!

We headed back to Ivar's hut after we were finished. Milla had returned to her shrine for the night, meaning Alvin and I had accidentally done the unthinkable and left Jude and Ivar alone together. Jude had some papers spread out before him as we entered (no doubt being the perfect honours student that he was and working on some homework), and Ivar was sat cross-legged on his bed, glaring venomously at Jude.

"Hey," I greeted them both cheerfully, in an effort to diffuse the tension.

Naturally, neither one of them gave me much acknowledgment. Jude briefly glanced up and muttered something incoherent, and I don't even think Ivar blinked.

I didn't bother trying to push further for a conversation. I was tired enough that I had no problem in grabbing some of the spare pillows and blankets that the villagers had offered up to us. I threw them down on the floor and wasted no time in kicking off my boots and snuggling up underneath them. I lay awake listening to Jude and Alvin chat for a little while, and then eventually everyone settled down for the night and we all fell asleep.

The next morning, Milla arrived at Ivar's hut bright and early. I was awoken slightly by the murmurs and talking around me, and then _completely _by Alvin prodding me in the side with his foot until I got up.

I sleepily gathered up my things as Milla begin outlining the plan she and Jude were to follow.

"I've been weighing our options," she was saying. "What if we can't take a boat straight to Fennmont?"

"You think the military will have it closed off?" said Jude, looking worried.

"You could always take the land route through the Auj Oule mountains," Alvin suggested helpfully. "But that would take a long time, and would probably be more pain than it's worth. Why don't you just come with us to Sharilton? If you can manage to get through Fort Gandala, Fennmont is only a couple days' journey on foot."

At the mention of Fort Gandala, I felt my stomach twist. Could they really just waltz through there with no problem? Why would they want to? Why would _anyone _want to?

But I didn't question it. Milla and Jude were agreeing like they thought it was the most reasonable solution, so I just offered a smile.

"That sounds like a great idea!"

"I agree," said Jude. "I'll be glad to be able to see you reunite with your parents."

My smile fell. "Uh, y-yeah. Right."

"First, we should head to Hamil to investigate Rashugal's movements," said Milla.

"If they're still there, that is," Jude added uncertainly.

We finished gathering up the last of our belongings, and then with a quick goodbye to Ivar, we headed out into the early morning air. The sun had barely risen, and a bright haze hung lazily over the village. It wasn't the first time since starting on this journey that I wished I had a camera to capture the moment.

Although, with the intensity of the glare Ivar was giving any of us who weren't Milla, I'd imagine he had the scene burned into his memory regardless.

We headed onwards, and eventually the silence of our trek was broken by the sound of running water as we entered the Seafalls. My hand inched towards my blade in preparation of any monsters attacking us, but for the first little while, it was surprisingly calm.

"So, there's something I don't get," said Alvin out of nowhere. He'd been walking with his arms outstretched, hands folded behind his head, and he was staring ahead with a thoughtful look on his face. "How exactly can the Four be captured?"

"Fundamentally, the Four are masses of mana," Milla explained. "The Lance of Kresnik absorbs mana and, apparently, is able to store it."

"I never thought that was even possible," said Jude, his eyes wide.

"Apparently it is," Milla said grimly.

"That just means that we have to rescue the Four, then!" Jude said in a determined tone.

"I do like the pluck," said Alvin, and he seemed amused. "But this might be a case where a bit of pluck will get you a lot of dead. A pissed-off med student's probably not a tall order for the group that bagged the Four Great Spirits."

"Easy," I said, shooting him a glare.

"No, he's right," said Jude. The determination left him, and now he just looked dejected. "I can't do much on my own. But that's why I have to work to become stronger, so that I can make a difference and help Milla!"

"I admire your courage," said Milla, the smallest of smiles on her face. "But no one is asking you to do that."

A faint blush crept into his cheeks. "I-I know that. I want to."

"Very well then." Her tone didn't hold much sentiment to it, but I suspected she was secretly happy. I liked to imagine that Milla acted all tough and serious, but deep down she was super emotional and loving and got super embarrassed and giddy whenever Jude said stuff like that.

"Are we going to have an emotional moment too?" Alvin asked me, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"No," I answered shortly. "But we can high-five or something, if you want."

"Fine," he said after a long pause, and then we high-fived while Jude gave us an exasperated, embarrassed look.

We continued on through the Seafalls, every so often having to stop and fight monsters. However, we got pretty lucky throughout most of the trip, as the monsters generally kept their distance this time around. Night fell just as we'd left the sandy shores and rocky paths of the Seafalls behind, and we set up camp in the shelter of a group of trees.

"So what do we do if we get to Hamil and the army is still there?" I asked worriedly, absently picking at a loose thread on my blanket.

"We will have to proceed with caution," Milla agreed. "However, I would imagine their presence will be known before we even reach the village. If they are still there, we will likely come across a patrol."

"We're not, uh, like..." I trailed off, feeling nervous as Milla trained her steely gaze on me. "We're not gonna try and _fight_ them, are we?"

"I don't think that would be very wise," said Jude, but it wasn't his confirmation I was looking for. I kept my eyes locked onto Milla, who solemnly shook her head.

"Jude is right. It would be an unnecessary risk."

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Despite the fact that I felt a little more confident holding a sword and defending myself than I originally had, the fact remained that I still wasn't good at it. I could keep myself alive – that was it. I doubted I would be able to survive in a fight against people who were extensively trained in sword fighting and pretty much did it for a living. I would be dead in two seconds.

More importantly, though, I didn't want to. Killing a monster was one thing. Killing a human being was entirely different. If the moment came down to it, I would probably let myself die before I could bring myself to actually do that. The thought was too scary.

I glanced at Milla, who had begun settling down for the night, and then at Alvin, who was scratching something down on a piece of paper. Both of them were seasoned fighters – Milla being a heroic spirit lord, and Alvin being a mercenary. I secretly wondered if either of them had ever taken the life of another person. I wondered that, but I was also a bit scared of the answer. Knowing that, would it change my perception of them? I'd never met someone who'd killed another person before – at least, I was pretty sure I hadn't (and I wasn't really counting Blair or Elias either).

I did my best to shake the thoughts away, laying my head down on my bag. None of that would matter, anyway. As long as we managed to escape the army, and I was able to reach Sharilton safely, I would never have to be faced with the option of killing another person.

And believe me, I planned on reaching Sharilton safely.

* * *

A little past noon the next day, the sky finally started to turn pink, signalling our imminent arrival to Hamil. Milla slowed her steps, looking alert as she carefully drew her sword and scanned the area.

"It seems like they turned back," said Jude once we'd reached the outskirts of the village. It seemed just as peaceful as it had when we initially arrived – there wasn't a single person around, and the only sounds that could be heard were that of nature.

"That doesn't mean we should let our guard down," said Milla. She'd put away her sword, for now, and we let her lead the way through the village.

"_Get out of here!"_

I jumped in alarm, thinking that the angry shout was directed at us, and was almost about to duck and hide when I realized it had come from up ahead. A group of people were gathered in front of Mayor Edith's house, and through the spaces in the crowd I was able to pick out the young girl from last time, her strange toy floating behind her. Both of them looked very distressed, and the girl refused to even lift her head.

"I don't like the looks of that," said Jude, his face dark.

"This is all _your _fault, you evil brat!" one of the women snarled at her, and I watched with complete, halting shock as she leaned down to grab a stone from the ground. She pelted it at the girl, who collapsed to her knees and covered her head with her hands in an effort to avoid being hit. Several other villagers started joining in, spitting curses at her while she let out muffled sobs.

"Stop it!" the toy behind her wailed. "Sticks and stones _can _break bones, you know!"

Panicked, angry tears filled my eyes. I started forward, intent on slapping the shit out of the woman who'd thrown the first stone, but Jude was one step ahead of me. Eyes narrowed with an intensity I'd never seen from him before, he reached forward and gripped the wrist of a man who had been about to throw a stone.

"H-Hey!" the man exclaimed indignantly. "What's the big idea?"

I half-expected Jude to start telling the guy off, but he just gave him a withering glare and shoved him out of the way in favour of approaching the girl.

"You okay?" he asked gently, crouching down in front of her.

She hesitantly lifted her head, blinking tears out of her eyes as she gazed up at him.

"What the hell is the matter with you people?" I exploded, rushing to Jude's side to glare at them all. Milla joined me, perhaps to act as another barrier between them and the girl. "Are you crazy? She's a little..." But I trailed off, my words catching in my throat when I realized that at the very front of the crowd was the same, kind Edith who had done so much for us when we'd last been here. She was giving me a hateful look, as though daring me to continue.

"Do you have any idea what you people put us through?" she asked angrily, her eyes motioning to the crowd around us.

It was then that I noticed the state of most of them – many were covered in scrapes and bruises, and others were sprawled on the ground, weapons beside them as people tended to their injuries. All of them were giving us that same hateful, angry look, and I felt my stomach twist.

"Is this Rashugal's doing?" asked Milla.

Edith looked like she wanted to reply, but the venom in her expression wavered, and she just looked pained.

"They couldn't find us, so they took it out on the village," Alvin said gravely.

"Leave here at once!" Edith spat, whirling to give Alvin a fresh glare. "You outsiders are nothing but trouble."

Her words stung, and it felt like she had slapped me in the face. I looked around helplessly as the crowd slowly dispersed, all of them muttering angrily to themselves. Had we done this? Was it our fault these people were hurt? My anger at them faded, briefly, and all I felt was guilt.

"She was like a completely different person," said Jude, looking absolutely stunned.

Now that her assailants had left, the girl suddenly scrambled to her feet, pushing past us to run back the way we'd come. Jude stared after her, looking troubled.

"Let's see if the villagers know anything about Rashugal's activities," Milla suggested, and I marvelled at how calm she sounded. She was eying Jude carefully.

"Are you sure they'll even wanna talk to us?" I asked glumly.

"We'll make 'em talk," said Alvin – he was sounding pretty cheerful himself.

"You wish to go after her, don't you?" said Milla. This finally broke Jude out of his daze.

"Huh?"

"Don't forget, we'll be leaving soon." With that, she headed off in the direction of Edith's house, Alvin close behind her. Jude briefly returned his gaze to the direction where the girl had run before looking at me.

"Do you want to come too?"

I nodded. "Mm. I'm really worried about her. I feel awful."

The two of us followed the path back to the fork – where the split led to either the Seafalls or the orchard. Squinting, I peered into the depths of the orchard, and found that it looked fairly deserted, and I doubted she would have left town with so many monsters around. That left...

"Look," said Jude, nudging me with his elbow. The door to the shack, which had previously been tightly closed, was hanging open slightly. "Do you think that's where she went?"

"Only one way to find out, I guess." In a normal situation, I would never just barge into someone's house uninvited like this, but judging by the way everyone in town (fucking grown adults, too, no less) had been ganging up on her, she seemed to be alone. This was a special case.

The inside of the shack was pretty standard. It was all one room – a large bed pushed against one wall, a dining table and chairs, a rickety old sofa, a wood stove. There was a door in the opposite corner of the room that I assumed was a back entrance, as well as a staircase that descended into what was probably a basement. The girl wasn't in this main room, which really only left downstairs.

The stairs creaked loudly from age, and Jude led the way as we climbed down them and slowly opened the door at the bottom. The cellar was damp and cold, with two large shelves housing huge barrels, which I suspected were probably filled with wine.

A spot of colour – blonde hair and a purple dress – caught my attention. The girl was peeking around the corner of one of the shelves, and when we met eyes, she ducked back and scurried away. Jude and I exchanged a sympathetic look and carefully followed her.

Hidden from view by the shelves were a bed and a nightstand that housed a lamp. The girl was cowering in the corner, and so, it seemed, was her toy.

"H-Hey," Jude said hesitantly, but his tone was gentle. "Can we talk?"

The girl slowly rose to her feet, and I noticed with a pang in my chest that she was shaking. She wrapped her arms tightly around her toy, clutching it to her chest like it was a teddy bear. She angled her body slightly towards us, but she didn't make eye contact.

"We're not here to hurt you," I assured her softly, crouching down in hopes that it would make me seem less threatening. "We wanted to make sure you were okay."

The girl fully turned towards us, her eyes flitting between the two of us nervously. She allowed her hair to hang in her face, as though it would offer her some protection.

"Hi there." Jude smiled at her. He followed my lead, squatting down a bit and placing his hands on his knees. "We've met once before, right?"

The girl's large eyes blinked at him, and the tiniest of smiles formed on her face. She looked away from him shyly, hiding her face behind her toy, and then...

"Wah-hey!"

Jude and I had pretty much the same reaction. I lost my balance, falling flat on my ass, and then Jude tripped on me as he stumbled backwards in alarm, falling down beside me.

The toy's ears wiggled as it let out a laugh, and then I knew for sure I hadn't imagined it. That toy...that toy had actually spoken! Its voice was loud and almost nasally; I was instantly reminded of a cartoon character. I blinked slowly at him, trying to decide if maybe I was going crazy.

"Whoops! Clumsy little folks, aren't you?" it teased us, as the girl lifted her head and smiled at us.

"This is Teepo," she said, affectionately squeezing the toy tighter. "He won't hurt you."

"And this is Elly!" Teepo exclaimed, opening his spiralled eyes wide. "But you should call her Elize! Nice to meetcha!"

"Ah, heh..." Jude did his best to cover up his shock, laughing awkwardly as he tried to pull himself to his feet. "Nice to meet you too...er, both of you."

I, meanwhile, was still a little caught off guard, and was staring at "Teepo" nervously. Was he actually some kind of monster? But he looked just like a plush toy...they couldn't have had that kind of technology in Rieze Maxia, could they? Back home, maybe, but even then – talking toys usually couldn't react to the situation around them like that.

Elize was giving me a worried look. She took a few steps forward, tilting her head.

"Um, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes!" I exclaimed, maybe too loudly, and snapped out of my daze. I gave her a wide smile and hurried to stand. "Your...uh, friend, just surprised us. That's all." Realizing this was supposed to be an introduction, I added, "I'm Maggie, by the way."

"And my name's Jude."

"Wah-hey! Maggie and Jude!" said Teepo, and I was momentarily distracted yet again by how wide his mouth opened when he spoke – the whole top half of his head flung back, like his jaw was unhinged. "Thanks for helping us out before!"

"Thank you," Elize agreed quietly.

"Of course," I told her kindly.

Jude leaned forward again, giving her a concerned look. "So what exactly happened? Can you tell us?"

"Well first, all these meanie men showed up from who knows where. Some place far away!" Teepo explained excitedly. "Then, the big man whupped 'em all!"

"Oh, Hagrid!" I said, gaining me confused looks from Jude and Elize. I blushed, realizing my mistake, and suddenly became enthralled by the wine barrels. "N-Never mind. Continue."

"But then he wandered away somewhere," Elize continued.

"Right! That's when the meanie men started bullying the villagers!"

"Is the big guy a buddy of yours, Elize?" Jude asked carefully.

"No," she replied, shaking her head and casting her eyes at the ground.

"He's a bad guy!" said Teepo vehemently...well, I say that, but it still sounded pretty comical coming out in that voice of his. "He locked Elly up!"

"We arrived here together in Amnis," said Elize. Oh! I vaguely remembered that name. Months, maybe? It had definitely been on one of Keegan's cheat sheets about time.

"But they started chucking rocks at us the second we stepped out side," Teepo lamented. "Those meanies!"

Jude tensed beside me, and I heard him let out an angry sigh. Elize gave him a curious look, and I patted his shoulder sympathetically to snap him out of it.

"S-Sorry," he muttered, and then focused his attention back on Elize. "Are the two of you waiting for friends here or something?"

Elize's face fell. "Friends? We don't have any."

I almost started crying right there. All of those fears I'd had when we left her here the last time...I knew I was right. I wanted to reach out and hug her, but I worried that the sudden movement might frighten her.

"Well, you do now," said Jude firmly.

"That's right," I added, giving her the warmest smile I could manage. I had a feeling I knew exactly what Jude was thinking, and I knew Milla was going to shut him down. But all the same, I added, "We're your friends now."

Elize glanced up in surprise. When she realized we weren't joking, she blushed and hid her face again behind Teepo, who let out a cry of joy.

"Wah-hey! We've got some new pals!"

Jude was giving the two of them a hard stare, like he was thinking seriously about something. The look confirmed my suspicions, and I nudged him, giving him a frown as if to say, "I know what you're thinking, and Milla is _not _going to be okay with this."

He nodded in understanding, but all the same he turned back to Elize.

"Do you mind if we tell our friends about you, Elize?"

"Why?"

"I don't like the way the villagers here treat you," he replied honestly. "I want to ask our friends if there's anything we can do."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Yep, that was exactly what I thought he'd say. Still, even knowing how Milla was going to react, I probably would have said the same thing, had I thought of it first. The memory of those villagers hatefully cursing at Elize and pelting her with rocks filled me with rage – it made me angrier than I'd felt in a long time. All I could think of was my niece back home, barely four years old and the picture of innocence. Sure, Elize was quite a bit older than her, but she was still a kid, and although I didn't know her very well, I couldn't imagine she'd done _anything _bad enough to warrant the villagers being so horrible to her.

"I agree," I said finally, and Jude looked relieved that at least _I _was on his side. "You seem like such a sweet kid. It's not right."

Elize and Teepo were silent for a moment, and I got the strange sensation that they were having a silent conversation. Eventually, Teepo gave a little hop in Elize's arms.

"Sure, why not? Jude and Maggie are our pals! We can trust them! Right, Elly?"

She nodded.

"Thanks, Elize," said Jude. "Just wait right here. Maggie and I will go grab them and bring them to you, okay?"

She didn't say anything, but when the two of us started to turn to leave, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Jude's hand. He looked down in surprise to find her staring innocently up at him.

"Oh, you want to come with?"

She smiled, and Teepo's ears wiggled happily in response.

"Of course you can come," I told her. I looked around at the sad state of the room. By the sounds of what Hagrid had said when we'd seen the two of them last, she probably didn't get out very much. I'm sure the last thing she wanted was to stay cooped up for any longer. "The fresh air will do you good."

Elize followed closely behind us as we headed back outside. We started back towards the mayor's house, and I couldn't help but sneak a couple of glances at her when she wasn't looking. She was pale – even by _my_ standards, and I was pretty pasty. Her hair hung in her face, and it looked like it hadn't been properly combed or cut in ages. Her dress was lovely, but it had obviously been with her for several years, as it was showing some serious signs of wear and tear.

I frowned to myself. I'd heard so many horror stories back home about absolute creeps kidnapping young girls and keeping them locked in cellars, and this case was shaping up to be no different. It was obvious even by looking at their complexions that Hagrid wasn't Elize's dad. If that was the case, then why did he have her? Where were her real parents? At the very least, he seemed to be on the side of the village – and he had done his best to protect everyone, it seemed, when Rashugal had invaded. But now that I knew what the villagers were _really _like...did that actually add much to his case at all?

Milla and Alvin were waiting outside Edith's house when we arrived. Alvin's eyes zeroed in on Elize, and he looked mildly surprised to see her.

"Oh, it's the doll girl," he said casually.

Elize blushed, hiding her face behind Teepo, who trained his large eyes on Alvin in response.

"We're finished here," said Milla. She didn't acknowledge Elize's presence any further than a brief look in her direction. "We didn't learn anything useful. It's time to go."

Just like that, Milla turned on her heel and was already headed away from us, but she was the only one moving.

"Wait!" Jude called, chasing after her. "We need to talk. It's about the girl."

Milla stopped, and I saw her shoulders rise and fall as she let out what was probably an annoyed sigh. Slowly, she turned around to give Jude an expectant look. Alvin wandered over in curiosity, and I stood at a safe distance between them and Elize so I could keep an eye on the girl. Sensing an important discussion was about to take place, she went off on her own and crouched down to start playing with Teepo. I watched the two of them as Jude explained to Milla and Alvin what Elize had told us.

"The villagers do seem to treat her like a pariah," said Alvin once Jude was finished, looking over at her sympathetically. "When we talked to the mayor, she had nothing but bad things to say about her."

Milla nodded in agreement. "Until that big fellow Jiao returns, I don't see her situation improving."

Jiao? She must have been talking about Hagrid. Well, at least I knew his actual name now so I could quit calling him Hagrid in my head. I was sort of going to miss that...

"But Elize insists that Jiao isn't her friend," said Jude.

"He keeps her locked up in the basement of that shack near the orchard," I added quietly, stepping closer to the group. "I don't like it at all."

"He locks her up when he's around, and the villagers treat her horribly when he's away." Alvin sighed heavily. "Sounds like she's stuck between a jerk and a hard place."

I nervously started fiddling with the ties on my tunic when Jude started to look thoughtful. Well, I guess this was it.

"Unless we bring her with us."

"Bring her with us?" Milla gave Jude a stern look. "And then what? Have you given this any thought? You do remember my mission."

"Yeah..." He hung his head.

Milla stared at him for a long time, until she finally sighed, the stern look fading from her face.

"Very well. She can come."

"Really?" Jude asked in surprise, his head whipping up so he could gape at her. I was pretty much blown away too. I hadn't expected her to say yes at _all_, let alone without even the smallest of an argument.

"Jude. Do you remember what I told you at the falls?"

Jude looked confused.

"Be yourself," she elaborated. "And do what you have to do. That's what I said to you."

He smiled, almost fondly, at the memory. "Yeah. I remember."

"Those words still apply. Can I assume your decision to bring the girl is just another step in your path? That it will help you find the answer you seek?"

"Y-Yes," he said, looking sure of himself.

Milla smiled. "Good. Then tell Elize, she's coming."

"Are you sure?" I asked her, feeling a lot less certain in this plan than Jude was. "I just...I know it's probably going to be dangerous, and she's just young..."

"I have no reason to doubt Jude's ability to keep her safe," was Milla's reply, and I knew she was completely serious. She had a lot of faith in him.

Jude excitedly rushed off to tell Elize the good news, and Alvin crossed his arms, looking surprised.

"That was nice of you."

"She won't affect my mission," Milla said simply. "If she slows me down, or gets herself in trouble, then I'll just leave her behind. My intent from the beginning was to do this alone, after all."

I looked over at Jude and Elize. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but a big smile had bloomed across Elize's face, and Teepo was hopping around excitedly. Was that all it was? Did Milla really not care one way or the other what happened to Elize? I couldn't believe that, but she didn't say anything else – she just calmly walked towards the exit of the village to wait for us. Alvin was staring after her too, an odd look on his face.

"Do you think she's really that cold?" I wondered aloud.

"Hard to say." He shrugged, the look leaving his face. "She seems to have enough of a soft spot for Jude, though."

"You've got that right."

Speaking of Jude, he was on his way back over with Elize, who looked considerably happier than she had a few minutes ago.

"Are you ready to go on an adventure?!" I asked her excitedly.

"Oh boy, are we ever!" Teepo exclaimed, dancing in Elize's arms.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Alvin muttered.

The four of us (well...five, I guess if you counted Teepo) went over to join Milla. As we passed, a group of villagers who had been sitting near a pile of crates let their eyes follow Elize. Elize paused once we'd reached Milla and, clutching Teepo tightly to her chest, turned to take in the sight of the village one last time. She saw the villagers and smiled and waved at them.

She was met with glares and silence.

Her face fell once again.

"Don't let yourself get upset over them," I told her, in a voice loud enough that I knew several of them had to have heard me. "Only awful people would treat you the way they have."

She ducked her head as we started walking away from them.

"I just don't get it," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "The woman who threw the first rock...she put an egg in my porridge one time. A-And one of the men...he patched up the holes in the roof of our shack."

"But none of that matters!" Teepo added angrily. "They hate us – those meanies showed us how they really feel today!"

"These things can be complicated," I told her gently, even though I agreed whole-heartedly that they were pretty much the biggest dicks of all time. "Just don't let it bother you, okay? We're your friends now."

That seemed to lift her spirits some. "R-Right. Thank you!"

"Oh, right!" Jude said suddenly. "I guess I haven't properly introduced Elize yet." He gave her an encouraging look.

"I-I'm Elize Lutus!" she announced, giving a sort of short curtsy. "Hello!"

"Well, you look like you'll be a fine lady when you grow up," said Alvin, pasting on that charming smile of his. "I'm Alvin. It's nice to meet you."

"Unbelievable," I muttered, glaring at him, but his shameless grin didn't fade.

Elize seemed put off by his sudden attention. "I...um, well..."

"Don't talk to strangers, Elize!" Teepo chastised in a sing-songy voice. "Strangers are bad!"

"And Alvin is the strangest of all!" I told her cheerfully, slapping him on the back. Jude laughed, and Alvin didn't look too impressed that I'd used his own move against them.

Milla, meanwhile, was eying Teepo with cautious curiosity.

"Why is this stuffed animal talking?"

"Huh? Teepo always talks," said Elize, as though it should be painfully obvious.

"Naturally!" Teepo added.

"Oh," said Milla, seeming offended. "So, _I'm _the one who's reacting strangely?"

"Sure looks that way!" I imagined that if Teepo had shoulders, he would have shrugged.

"I'm arguing with a stuffed animal," she said, almost to herself. "How unusual."

"Unusual, she says." Alvin shook his head in disbelief.

"Coming from _you, _Milla?" said Jude, trying his hardest not to laugh.

Regardless, Elize was smiling again as she looked around at the group. "It's nice to meet all of you!"

"We're happy to have you along, Elize," I said, smiling warmly.

With that, we continued on along the highroad, and it seemed that the darker the rosy sky became, and the further away from Hamil we got, Elize's step seemed that much lighter.

* * *

**Next time: Some serious business. I mean it. Stay tuned...**

**(I'm serious it's big guys)**

**Really**


	9. A Slap In The Face

**Hey guys, long time no update, heh.**

**I won't bore you with excuses! Instead, I'll give you what you came for - updates!**

**I did a lot of rewrites alongside this chapter. They're heaviest in the first few chapters where I revamped the beginning, so read those for sure! I scattered little things throughout the rest of it. Basically, I wanted to rewrite the beginning to fit the vision I have for the story now, because at the time I started this I really didn't have much idea.**

**So yeah! I would recommend rereading (which you might want to do since it's been so long anyways). I've given a lot of clarification to Blair's character, aged Maggie up a few years, and some other stuff too. **

**Thanks for being patient with me! This update is a big one in terms of story progression. Stuff is going to start rolling from here, and you'll see what I mean once you read it :)**

* * *

We walked, pretty much without stopping, for the rest of the day, and I was amazed at how much energy Elize seemed to have. She kept pace with us the whole time, stopping only when we told her to get back so we could protect her during a fight. She never once complained, or seemed to lose her breath, and she wore a smile the whole time. I suspected she was mostly just glad to be away from that village. To experience the freedom of the open road.

To have people caring about her.

When the sun finally disappeared completely from the sky, we stopped to set up camp for the night. Elize was glancing around nervously at the darkness, as though something horrifying and dangerous was going to jump out at her from its depths.

I felt bad that she was scared, so I decided to take it upon myself to cheer her up.

"So Elize. Have you ever had a slumber party before?"

Her eyes lit up in curiosity. She quickly shook her head, causing her blonde locks to fly.

"N-No! What is that?"

"It sounds like fun!" Teepo chimed in.

"Oh it is," I said, quite seriously. "It's basically when you and your friends all gather together and have a party, and then you all sleep at one person's house! You stay up late, playing games, telling stories – it's the best."

"That sounds amazing," Elize breathed, her eyes wide.

"Exactly! And this can be your first one," I told her excitedly. "We're all your friends now, so it's basically like a slumber party, except we're camping! My best friend and I used to do it all the time."

While Elize and Teepo started chattering animatedly to each other, I felt my chest constrict at the thought of my best friend. We both led busy lives, so it was normal for us to go months without seeing each other. Still, this stretch of time felt like an eternity. I was instantly overwhelmed with memories – late nights spent watching Harry Potter, camped out in her tent trailer in her driveway. Playing with water balloons in her pool. Video games in her basement.

Tears pricked my eyes when I thought about the possibility of never getting to experience any of that again. Elize noticed, because the giggles died from her throat and she tilted her head, looking concerned.

"M-Maggie? What's wrong?"

This, of course, automatically caused every eye in the group to turn to me.

"Nothing!" I said hastily, sniffing and dabbing my sleeves against the corner of my eyes. "I-I was just thinking of my best friend. I haven't seen her in a while."

Jude's face grew sympathetic. "Don't worry about it! You'll be in Sharilton soon enough. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you!"

I nodded, emotion swelling in my chest and making it impossible for me to speak. Mentally willing my eyes to stop being so damn warm and watery, I forced a smile in Elize's direction.

"Okay!" I clapped my hands together, as if the noise would scare everyone's probing eyes away from me. "One of the cardinal rules of slumber parties – hair braiding is a must."

Granted, I had never once braided someone's hair at a slumber party, nor had I had _my _hair braided at a slumber party, but it was one of the stereotypical activities, and I needed to give Elize the full experience – even if I was now only doing it to get my mind off of my own problems.

Elize's concerned look lingered, but when I motioned for her to turn around, she did, perhaps deciding that it was nothing to be worried about – for which I was grateful.

I took her hair into my hands and started combing my fingers through it. I wished that I had a comb or a brush or something, but I was still able to successfully separate three chunks of hair and began twisting them together. I noticed as I worked that her hair was pretty lank, like it hadn't been washed properly in a while. At least this way, it would be out of her face. Once I had the braid finished, I held it in one hand while I fished around in my bag for an elastic.

"There!" I said, wrapping the elastic in place. "Not too shabby for my first braid, huh?"

Elize delicately stroked the braid, as though she were worried she'd ruin it. Teepo was flying all around excitedly.

"Wow, Ellie! You look great!"

Upon hearing Teepo's reassurance, her lips pulled into a smile.

"T-Thanks, Maggie. I love it."

"Of course! Don't mention it. Now then. What about supper?"

Elize talked little through supper, but Teepo was able to chatter away enough for the both of them. It wasn't long after we'd finished eating that everyone settled in for the night. Alvin offered Elize his blanket until we could secure her one of her own.

"I'm a mercenary, I'm used to toughing it out in the great outdoors," he'd explained, as though that was supposed to make Elize think he was some super cool hero or something. Naturally, all she'd done was give him a wary, but grateful, look.

As usual, we rose with the sun the next morning. I threw my hair up into a messy bun as we walked; I hadn't had a chance to wash it in days, and it was starting to get gross. I didn't know about the others' plans, but the first thing I planned on doing when I reached the seahaven was hightailing it to the inn and taking an hour-long shower.

Eventually, the walled perimeter of the seahaven came into view, and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The road had been pretty tame as far as monsters went, but having Elize with us now meant that we constantly had to keep an eye on her during battles, which made things a little more complicated. It wasn't that any of us minded, and no huge troubles arose or anything like that, but I was tired, nonetheless.

The salt air hit me as we passed through the gates, and I breathed it in deeply.

"Shall we check on ship schedules?" Milla suggested. She didn't wait for a response, and we all followed after her to the booth in the loading area.

"Excuse me, when is the next ship leaving for Fennmont?" Jude asked politely, though his nerves were clearly showing.

Naturally, the man behind the counter looked apologetic.

"I'm afraid the Rashugal government has blockaded the capital and its surrounding regions. That means all scheduled voyages to Fennmont have been canceled. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"Are any ships sailing?" Milla asked, and the stare she gave him was enough to cause him to freeze up in fear.

"S-Sorry ma'am." He frantically looked down at a sheet of paper on the counter, trailing his finger down the list. "Ah! But the route to Sapstrath Seahaven is still open. If you can manage travelling by land, you may be able to cut through Sharilton. Because of the demand, the next voyage doesn't leave until the morning."

"We'll take five tickets, please," said Milla. While the man got the tickets ready, each of us pooled together our gald (Milla had gotten some from the villagers, Jude from selling materials he'd gathered on the journey, and Elize from my own pocket), and then Jude exchanged it all for the tickets.

"Looks like we have a lot of time to kill then," said Alvin.

The words were barely out of his mouth and I was already making a beeline to the inn.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Jude called after me.

"Shower!" I replied, waving a hand behind me. I didn't wait for them to catch up with me, but they had caught up regardless by the time I made it through the line to speak to the innkeeper.

"Hi! I was wondering if you had any rooms available? There are five of us."

The innkeeper gave our group a searching look before rummaging around at his desk. He produced a set of keys in each hand.

"Will two be enough?"

"That should be fine," said Jude, accepting the keys. "Thanks." He then turned to the rest of us. "How do we want to split up?"

"Not that it matters to me, but girls in one room, guys in the other?" I suggested. I was dancing in one spot – now that a glorious stream of water was awaiting me, I would have slept on the ground tonight if that's what it took to get to it.

Milla nodded. "That sounds acceptable. Shall we get settled?"

We headed down the hall and up a set of stairs to the second floor. Our rooms were conveniently located across from one another, so we split off and each took to our respective rooms.

The layout was quite similar to the room I'd stayed in during our last visit here, although it was slightly bigger, with two double beds instead of just one. In addition to the armchairs and table, there was a small sofa in one corner.

I set my bag on one of the beds and stretched my arms out.

"Not to be greedy, but does anyone mind if I shower first?"

Milla and Elize both stared at me for a minute, and I soon clued in that they both came from small villages. Neither one of them probably even knew what a shower was, and besides that, something told me that the spirits probably used to help keep Milla clean.

"It's like a bath," I told them awkwardly. "But instead you stand under a stream of water. I can let one of you go first if you wanna check it out."

Milla shook her head. "That's quite alright. You seem to be anxious to bathe. I won't rob you of that pleasure."

"Elly has dibs next!" Teepo declared.

"Thanks, friends!" I happily started undressing, wrapping one of the nearby towels around myself once my clothes were on the floor.

The shower was a tiny stall crammed into the corner of an already small bathroom. I reached out and turned the rusty knob, and a stream of icy cold water began pouring out of the nozzle. I let out a surprised yelp, but after several moments it heated itself to a reasonable temperature (though still not overly warm).

I closed my eyes as the water poured down on me and tried my best to pretend I was home. I sang under my breath as I washed myself, disappointed that this cramped bathroom didn't have nearly as good of acoustics as my more spacious one back home. Still, I let the words to one of my favourite Lights songs drift out of my mouth, and just tried to let my current situation leave my mind.

As much as I wanted to savour the shower, I hurried through my routine as best as I could (desperately wishing I had a razor, because...yikes) and wrapped the towel around myself once I was finished. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Milla had disappeared, and I found Elize sprawled out one of the large beds. Her arms were flung out on either side of her and she was staring up at the ceiling, looking positively content.

"Probably a little fancier than you're used to, huh?"

She jumped, whipping her head towards me in surprise.

"M-Maggie! I...it's very comfy."

"It's almost softer than I am!" Teepo sang in agreement. He was happily nuzzling one of the fluffy pillows at the head of the bed.

I held back a laugh as I flopped down on the other bed. I remembered my first time staying in a hotel – the excitement that came along with it was, for me, something that never really faded with age. I started combing my fingers through my wet hair, absently wondering if there were such things as chlorinated swimming pools in Rieze Maxia.

"Alvin stopped by while you were in the shower," said Elize, looking uncertain. I was pretty sure Elize was still warming up to Alvin, and his...eccentric personality probably wasn't speeding up the process. "He was looking for you."

"Did he say what he wanted?" I asked, but my question was answered as the door swung open and he came waltzing through it.

"Ah, you're out! Perfect."

"Alvin!" I exclaimed, red-faced and scowling as I wrapped my arms around myself to secure the towel. "Hello? I'm in a towel, if you don't mind. What if I had been changing?"

"I don't mind, thanks for asking," he said, grinning shamelessly. "Although, you might want to put on something a little more appropriate for training."

"Training? But–"

"Grab something quick to eat if you want, and then meet me outside. I'm giving you 15 minutes!"

Any other protest I might have made went unheard as he turned and left the room as abruptly as he had entered it. I glared at the closed door, feeling an eternity-long groan building in my throat.

"Can't you just tell him you don't want to train?" Elize piped up nervously.

"You clearly don't know Alvin," I muttered in response. I quickly changed into something light – a dress and tights, as opposed to the rather bulky tunic Edith had given me. I took a moment to eye the crumpled heap it made on the floor, my eyes then wandering to Elize. My stomach twisted when I remembered how drastically different Edith had turned out to be from the kind woman who had given me that tunic. It almost made me not want to wear it again. And the way she had treated Elize...

"Um, Maggie?" Elize said hesitantly. "What's wrong? You look...sad."

"Sorry!" I forced a smile her way. Elize's life seemed to be tragic enough. She didn't need someone like me getting all depressed and reminiscent around her every time there was a lull in the conversation. Something about her just brought it out in me. "Wanna come with me and see if we can find Jude and Milla?"

She nodded, so the two of us set off together. Luckily, Jude and Milla were in the first spot we checked, which was the kitchen. They were the only two there, and judging by the amazing smell drifting into my nostrils, Jude was cooking up something good.

"It smells great in here," I announced, and on cue my stomach did a traitorous gurgle.

"Hey guys!" Jude greeted us over his shoulder. "Dinner should be ready in 20 minutes or so, if you wanted to wait around."

"What are you making?" Elize asked curiously, wandering over to the stove and poking her head over the top.

"I figured I'd just make a simple pasta dish."

"Of course you are!" I groaned, staring longingly at the stove. "I love pasta...but I have to train with Alvin..."

"There's going to be lots," he told me sympathetically. "I'll save you both some."

"Think of how rewarding it will taste after a draining session of sword-fighting," Milla added in what was probably supposed to be a helpful tone. All it succeeded in doing was making me want to do it even less.

"Good point," I said sarcastically, though I doubt she picked up on it. I bid goodbye to everyone in the room, grabbing a porange from the counter as I did.

I ate the porange as I headed to the lobby, but it was gone all-too soon. By the time I made it outside, a frown had settled on my face in remembrance of the sweet, juicy taste of the now-digesting fruit.

"Don't look so happy to see me," Alvin teased upon my arrival. "What's up with you?"

"I'm hungry," I pouted, giving him the most pitiful look I could muster. "And Jude is making pasta. Can't this wait until after supper? Or like...tomorrow?"

Alvin ruffled my still very-much damp hair, and I scowled as I did my best to smooth it down.

"I wanna do this before the sun goes down and the _real _nasties come out," he replied, jerking his thumb towards the seahaven gates. It took a moment for me to realize what he meant, but when I did...

"Wait, _real _monsters?!" I exploded, absolutely indignant. "Why? Why do we have to fight real monsters? Why can't I just practice on you like normal?"

"Because you need real practice," he said firmly. "You can be _pretty _sure I won't kill you, but a treant won't be so nice. I'm worried you're going to get too comfortable with me due to my stunning good looks, which could lead to carelessness, which could lead to injury or death."

"Enough with the lecture, asshole," I muttered, very much wanting to hit him. "So, what? We just head out to the highroad and blindly kill some monsters until you decide it's enough?"

"Calm down, grumpy Gus." His good-natured tone was having the opposite of the intended effect on me. "For your information, I have a request for us to fill. Something about lost goods a little ways outside the seahaven or something."

"Good thing you got all the details," I said through a grimace. "This seriously can't wait until after supper?" I was starting to think that eating the porange had actually made me _hungrier._

"We'll be back in a flash," he assured me, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "At least this way we'll have you working up an appetite."

"I'm already hungry..."

But as usual, my protests went ignored, and we were on our way towards the highroad before I could say another word.

* * *

Because of the spirit clime, judging the passing of time was hard. However, as Alvin and I walked along the highroad, I felt the air cool and noticed the pink hue of the sky begin to tinge with blue. Watching dusk fall upon a permanently dusk-filled sky was an incredible experience; there were several moments where I almost bumped into Alvin because I was so distracted by its beauty.

"Keep focused," he told me one of these times, slowing down and placing a hand on his sword.

"What? Why?" I asked in a sudden panic. I drew my own sword, gazing into the thickening darkness. "Is there something there?"

"No, but there could be," he replied, sounding vaguely amused. "If you spend the whole time staring up at the sky, it'll be pretty easy for some monster to get the jump on you."

I let my shoulders drop, feeling annoyed, but definitely not any less panicked. I knew he was just looking out for me, but I didn't even want to be out here in the first place.

"So you still didn't give me very many specifics," I said. "Do you even know what we're actually looking for? What kind of goods?" If he told me we were going after a food supply or something like that, I was going to lose it. How would we have any way of knowing that the monsters hadn't already eaten it all?

"The request came from a shopkeeper," Alvin replied. "He had ordered some monster parts for customization, but they never made it here. The supplier showed up to the seahaven looking pretty beat up. My best guess? Whatever type of monster those parts came from was _not_ happy to see the remnants of one of its own kind."

"A vengeful monster? Are they even that smart...?" But I trailed off at my own question. From what I'd come to gather, monsters were this world's equivalent of animals. If an elephant could mourn over the loss of its mate, then I'm sure some scary monster could do the same.

"It would appear so. Anyway, I'm not even sure what kind of monster we're dealing with, but if it's around these parts, it's probably nothing more than a pissed off goblin. It won't take long."

"How do we know where to find it, though?"

Alvin paused and motioned to something up ahead. The path was littered with torn scraps of brown paper packaging and what looked like a weird, green rope.

"We're getting close," he said.

I crouched down and picked up a piece of rope, running it through my fingers.

"Treant ivy," Alvin told me. "It's very strong - perfect for keeping delicate packages secured and tied together."

"So the packaging is all here..." I absently looped the rope around the handle of my sword. "Does that mean the monster is hording the supplies somewhere? That seems weirdly...calculated."

Alvin shrugged. "I've seen weirder things happen. C'mon, let's see where this trail leads."

I let him take the lead. This time, as we made our way down the path, I didn't offer so much as a glance towards the sky. Instead, I was vigilant in scanning the quickly darkening trees, alert for any sort of sound or movement that wasn't our own.

And then I heard it. A faint rustle - so faint I barely heard it - sounded from the trees. There was still enough natural light to make out some of what was around us, but among the trees, the shadows continued to grow. Trees were all I could really see.

"Did you hear that?" I asked sharply, immediately drawing my sword. As usual, the sudden weight pulled me down a little.

"It was probably the wind," said Alvin. His voice was nonchalant, but I noticed that his hands were poised for his weapons as well. "I don't see anything but trees."

Another rustle, this time much louder. I whirled around, and what happened next happened so _fast_ that I couldn't even process what I was seeing. In my confused mind, I saw a large, thick tree _lunge_ at me and then suddenly I was slapped in the face with a clawed, hand-shaped branch bigger than half my body. I went flying, my body slamming painfully into the ground.

"Are you okay?!"

I struggled to pull myself up off the ground, but there was no way I could respond just then. The wind had been knocked out of me. Instead, I let out a wheeze and managed to make it to my knees, waving my hand in response.

I heard the sound of steel against bark and looked up to see Alvin squaring off with the thing that had hit me. It was, indeed, some kind of huge tree monster, with thick roots for legs, clawed branches for hands, and a demonic face carved into the front of it, glowing red. Vibrant green moss and vines covered its bark, and, looking down at the vine tied around the handle of my sword, I immediately realized what was going on.

"That thing is the monster?!" I choked out. I remembered him mentioning the vines came from treants. This must have been what that was. I felt frozen. My eyes scanned the ground wildly for my sword, but I wasn't really taking anything in. My head was still spinning from the fall.

"Snap out of it, kid!" Alvin shouted. He fired off several bullets into the base of the treant, and I heard the bark crack loudly. "This is _your_ training session, remember?"

He was right. I was supposed to be fighting. Besides, something told me that he was only holding that thing off, not actually trying to defeat it. That was probably my job. Ugh...

"Here we go..." I gritted my teeth together and dove for my sword. The treant sensed the sudden movement and whirled around with surprising speed. It then began scuttling towards me.

I reached the blade just in time for the treant to bring its clawed hand down towards me. I tightly gripped the handle and thrust it upwards, successfully slicing through the "palm" of its hand. It wrenched its hand away and I wasn't able to keep my grip on my sword; it left my hands and went sailing through the air.

"Heads up!" Alvin shot a few flaming bullets into the treant's back. The fire caught and began creeping along the moss that encased its body.

The treant reacted by spinning around and using both of its claws to pick Alvin up off the ground. It started slamming him into the ground repeatedly.

"_Shit!" _I hissed. I sprinted towards my sword and as soon as it was in my hands again I practically dove towards the treant and started wailing on it. The fire was creeping up to its arms, and it only took one or two good whacks until the arm was severed from its body with a blistering crack.

Alvin hit the ground with a loud thud and the treant let out a howl. It tried swinging at me with its good arm, but I somehow managed to avoid it by ducking. I plunged my sword into the thing's base as deep as it would go, and as the fire continued to spread, I saw the life leave its glowing eyes. After a moment, all that remained was a smoldering husk.

Satisfied that I was, for the moment, safe, I let go of my sword and hurried to Alvin's side. He was laying facedown.

"Alvin! Alvin!" I shook him furiously.

"Ugh, quit it, would you?" He rolled over, revealing a bruised and wincing face. "I was just slammed into the ground about ten or eleven times. Could you give a guy a break?"

"I'm sorry. Holy shit..." I sank back onto my butt, feeling immensely relieved. "Are you okay though? Is anything broken? What can I do?"

"Hold on a sec..." He struggled to pull himself into a sitting position. He fished around in his pockets until he pulled out a single apple gel.

I stared blankly at it. "Is that all you brought?"

"Healing the old fashioned way makes you tougher," he explained, shrugging out of his jacket. "It's the way I always did it when I was younger. Except right now I think I have a broken rib or two, so..."

"Healing artes would come in handy at a time like this, huh?" I unscrewed the cap from the gel while he lifted up his shirt. I tried and failed to keep a straight face when I saw his skin - it was already seriously purple and gross. I started applying the gel, and already the colour began to fade. Alvin's face relaxed.

"Yeah, kid. They probably would." He fixed his shirt and then started pulling his jacket back on. As he did, he gave me an impressed look. The attention made my face flush and I looked away.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just...do you realize what you just did?"

I shook my head.

"You, my friend, just finished off that treant - and we weren't even linked."

I gasped and looked down at my lilium orb. It was just sitting there, so...dormant. Obviously, having it on me was slowly making me stronger, but the fact that all of that fighting had come from my _own _strength?

"That's...that's not totally true," I said, feeling the blush grow. "It wouldn't have been so easy if you hadn't set it on fire like that."

"I don't think that's entirely true," he said. "You're just being modest! You're improving, slowly, but surely. Not bad for a city slicker like you."

"Thanks, Alvin. You're a good teacher." I stood and offered a hand out to him. When he accepted it, and I helped him to his feet, I looked around. "What about those goods, then? I don't see them anywhere. Just...vines."

_Oh yeah..._

"I think the vines _were _the goods," said Alvin. "You gather up whatever is lying around. I'll cut some new vines from the dead body here."

"Don't say dead body," I mumbled, shivering, but did as I was told. It only took a few minutes before we had a sizable bundle of the vines gathered. Alvin used a final piece of vine to tie the bundle in place.

"Ready to head back?" he asked.

"Yes please. And then can we finally eat supper?"

"I'll think about it."

* * *

The sun had just sunk below the horizon when we made it back to town, and I was about to pass out. My stomach was growling so loudly that I was surprised we didn't attract any monsters on the way back that thought I was one of them.

"I'll go return the goods," said Alvin, tucking the bundle of vines underneath his arm. "Why don't you go grab us some food and meet me by those benches over there?"

"You don't have to tell me that twice." The prospect of food gave me a renewed sense of energy and I practically skipped away from him.

Jude was sitting at the table in the kitchen when I entered, papers and the like spread out before him. I laughed to myself before lightly knocking on the doorframe.

He jumped and glanced up at me; he must have been so wrapped up in his studies that he hadn't even noticed me approach. His surprise melted into pity when he took in the look of me - covered in bruises, the bulk of which had blossomed across the side of my face where the treant had slapped me.

"Let me take care of that." He stood and hurried over to me, concern drawing his eyebrows tightly together as he passed a glowing hand over my face.

"Alvin brought exactly one gel," I clarified. I breathed a sigh of relief as the dull ache faded away. "Evidently his broken ribs were more of a priority."

"What in the world happened? I thought the two of you were just practicing swordplay. You've been gone for hours."

"Alvin thought I needed some real life experience." The fresh smell of warm pasta had long since faded from the room, but I could see a covered pot sitting on the stove. My stomach roared to life. "He took us on a mission after some crazy tree monster."

Jude said nothing, but the look of disapproval on his face said it all. Shaking his head, he headed over to the stove and turned one of the dials. A small flame sparked beneath the pot.

"You guys must be hungry, anyway. It should only take a few minutes for this to heat up."

"Thanks, Jude," I said gratefully. I pulled out a chair and let myself collapse into it. If my legs could speak, they would have screamed their thanks. I had half a mind not to bother going back outside to Alvin and just stay here in the quiet, dim light of the kitchen. I reached for a nearby sheet of Jude's paper and scanned the contents - notes on the biological structure of some kind of monster I didn't recognize.

Jude's cheeks reddened when he saw me looking at his homework.

"You're quite the student," I said, though it didn't hold any of the mocking tone that Alvin liked to use when he said the same thing. "I mean to me, after going through everything you went through..." I trailed off, letting the paper drop. "Hell, I guess we're kind of in the same boat, aren't we? School is the last thing on my mind."

Granted, I wasn't really at Talim for any serious educational reasons. I'd been there strictly to try and "blend in". Besides, I cringed at the thought _me _becoming a doctor, especially in a dangerous world such as this. For Jude, however, it was clearly different. He was 15. He'd probably worked unbelievably hard to get where he was now. I didn't blame him for wanting to do whatever he could to keep that position.

"I get it," he said sheepishly. "But I guess...I don't know. Thinking about stuff like this helps to keep my mind off of the big picture. If I'm occupying myself by memorizing definitions and working through problems, then there really isn't time to think about anything else."

My heart ached for him. "Yeah. That totally makes sense."

A brief, heavy silence fell over the room before Jude gave his head a shake and returned to the stove. Grabbing two bowls from the cupboard, he began scooping even portions of pasta into either one. A rich, red sauce had already been mixed in, and even from here I could see the thick chunks of vegetables.

I thought my stomach was going to cave in on itself.

"It really would have been better fresh," he said apologetically, setting the bowls on the table in front of me. "Right now it's only kind of lukewarm and well..."

"It's perfect, don't even worry about it," I assured him. "I would eat cardboard at this point, and I'm sure this is _much _better."

"Well, I would hope so."

Giving him a farewell nod, I grabbed the bowls and headed out of the kitchen. After the brief rest I'd given them, my legs almost buckled in protest at being forced to move again, but soon enough I was seated beside Alvin on a bench close to the water, and my hunger was so great that I forgot everything else.

While I shoveled pasta into my mouth at a probably embarrassing rate, Alvin dropped something onto my lap. The pink-tinged night sky offered little light for me to see what it was, but as if by magic a lamp flickered to life above us. All across the seahaven, similar lampposts did the same. I knew better than to think it was electricity - spirit artes of some kind?

"What's this?" I asked, making sure to swallow first. I set my bowl down in favor of examining the pendant he'd tossed at me. It was a flat medallion with some kind of intricate design carved into the front of it.

"Your share from the hunt," he replied, slurping at his own noodles. "There was a gald reward too, but I figured you had enough coin weighing you down so I thought you'd appreciate me holding on to it instead."

"Naturally." I rolled my eyes, weighing the pendant in my palm. "I mean, this is pretty, I guess. Not sure it was worth fighting a demonic tree, but..."

"It's enchanted, smartass. If you wear it while you're fighting, it'll keep you from getting stunned so much. Not that _you _have a problem with _that_..."

I didn't even get mad at the sarcasm dripping from his words. He was totally right; one hit was usually enough to put me out of commission for a few long, dangerous seconds. Maybe this would help with that.

"In that case, this is actually pretty awesome! Thanks, Alvin."

"Thank yourself."

I hung the necklace around my neck, a pleased hum sounding in my throat. I took another bite of my food, feeling warm pride flood through my chest. I never expected to be in a position where being able to kill monsters with minimal injury would be a source of pride for me, and yet here I was. I still had a long way to go if I ever wanted to get even _close _to being as good as Alvin, but I was still doing good by my own standards.

I tried to think about how I could apply these skills back in my world. Would I be able to take on an angry bear singlehandedly? What about something more quick and deadly, like a lion? Not that I'd ever run into a lion in the wilderness of Atlantic Canada, but you never knew.

What about a more likely encounter like some guy wielding a knife on a dimly lit street? It's not like I had experience fighting humans in this world, but would those skills translate? Had Alvin actually given be a life-saving skill?

"Thanks for being so patient with me, Alvin," I said suddenly. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't taught me as much as you have. I like feeling like I can actually be useful, you know?"

He looked a bit surprised at my sudden seriousness. I wondered for a moment how he'd respond - would he actually try to take the situation seriously as well? Or would he react in typical Alvin fashion and turn it into a joke?

"It's the least I can do," he replied, in a tone that was somewhere in between the two. "Just promise me that once you're back to your cozy city life you won't let yourself get soft, hmm?"

I laughed, but the thought of Sharilton made me suddenly uncomfortable. Being on the road with Alvin and the others, training - it was dangerous, but it was starting to become familiar. I didn't know what I was heading into by going to Sharilton, and once Alvin and I parted ways, I'd be alone. The thought frightened me.

"Do you miss it?" he asked, picking boredly at his own food. "Sharilton, I mean. You must be excited to get back."

"Obviously, I miss it," I told him, but I wasn't thinking about some city I'd never even seen before. I was thinking about my sleepy, familiar town. As much as I hated it, I would have given anything to be back there right now.

"And your parents. You must be excited to see them again, huh?"

"Of course." My voice barely came out as a whisper. Any more than that and I knew I would have started crying. My poor, sweet mother was probably so worried about me. And my father...well, he was a bit clueless, to be perfectly honest, but deep down, I knew he meant well, even if he didn't show it very well. I wondered how he was reacting to this whole situation. The thought made my stomach churn.

"What about you?"

The abruptness of the question made Alvin's fork drop from his hand, hitting the bowl with a loud clatter. He quickly tried to smooth his expression back into that same carefree mask he always wore, but there was no missing the brief look in his eyes, even if I wasn't quite sure what it was.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you love to pry into my life, but I know absolutely nothing about you. Where are you from, for starters?"

Not that I'd probably heard of it anyway.

"Uh...Xian Du," he said after a long pause. "My mother lives there. It's in Auj Oule, on the road to the capital city of Kanbalar."

I blinked at him in surprise. I hadn't expected such a straight answer, even if the initial pause did make me a little suspicious.

"Oh," was all I could say.

"You should visit someday," he went on. "It's a little chilly, I will warn you. Pack warm. It's nothing like balmy Sharilton."

I'd been about to tell him that I was used to cold weather, but that last comment put a stop to it.

"Speaking of Sharilton, maybe you can answer a question for me. It's been bothering me _all _day."

"What's that?"

"The governor of Sharilton, what's his name again?" He scrunched up his eyebrows and started knocking on his forehead, as though he was wracking his brain for information. "I cannot for the life of me remember."

"The governor?" I immediately broke out in a panicked sweat. I turned away from him, hoping he hadn't seen the sudden fear evident on my face. "Why do you need to know?"

"I don't _need _to know, it's just been bothering me. What's the big deal? Surely someone who's lived in Sharilton all her life would know the governor's name, _especially _considering the dramatic circumstances that led him to take the position so young."

"If it's so dramatic of a story, then why don't _you _remember his name?"

"_Unless_," he pressed, completely ignoring me, "you're not really from Sharilton."

"Why would I lie about something like that?" I asked, but it was way too defensive, way too sharp of a tone.

Alvin grabbed me by the chin and forced me to look him in the eye. He looked more serious than I think he had since I met him.

"Look, I get you have your secrets, and you obviously know that I have mine. I've been pretty okay with letting all your weird little remarks slide until now, but everything's just been adding up and I think I've finally figured out what it is."

My heart was pounding painfully in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I did my best to stare him evenly in the eye, but it was extremely difficult because _what the hell was he saying?_ Was he implying that he knew what was really going on with me? There was no way that could be possible because I was fairly certain that the only people who knew about my world were that Exodus group, and those of us that came from there, and Alvin certainly didn't fall into either one of those categories.

"Look, you can tell me," he said in a tone that was surprisingly gentle. He let his hand drop. I didn't move. "Don't you get what's been going on? You think it's just a neat little coincidence that neither one of us can use spirit artes in a world full of people who can?"

Warning alarms started going off in my head, but I refused to acknowledge what they meant. It wasn't possible.

"I know you're not really from Sharilton," he said firmly. "Your parents aren't going to be waiting there for you. Nothing is. I _know _that's the truth because I know you're not really from Rieze Maxia."

My breath hitched in my throat. Despite those warning alarms I'd felt, hearing him say that still felt like a blow to the gut. How could he possibly know? Was he making some kind of joke? I fought to keep my expression neutral, even though it was probably a lost cause.

"That's crazy, Alvin," I told him, but my shaky voice made it impossible for the lie to sound genuine. Still, I pressed on. "What are you even talking about? You think I'm, what? From some kind of other world?"

"I know you are," he said calmly, but there was excitement brimming in his eyes. "You're not from Rieze Maxia - "

"Alvin _honestly - "_

" - because you're from Elympios."

His words made me clamp my mouth shut, genuinely surprised. Whatever I had expected him to say, it had _certainly _not been that.

"What?"

Alvin's lips slowly pulled into a victorious smile, but there was nothing malicious about it. If anything, he looked a little relieved.

"Let's just both drop the act, okay? There's no point in acting all secretive about it anymore." He was talking pretty damn casually for someone who had just dropped such a huge bombshell on someone. "Look, I get it, okay? It's all right. Because...I'm from Elympios, too."

"Alvin..._you're_ from Elympios?" I said dumbly. Any need to set him straight was briefly eclipsed by this sudden knowledge.

"I am. Is that really so surprising? I know you're a little slow on the uptake, kid, but c'mon now."

I shook my head in an effort to rid it of the fog that had captured my brain. None of this made sense. How the hell was Alvin from Elympios? Had it been obvious all along or something, and I was just an idiot? A blind, dumb idiot? It just didn't make sense. If Alvin wasn't with Exodus, then…

Fuck. I really _was _an idiot, wasn't I?

Shattered from my daze, I practically dove from the bench, pointing a shaking finger at him. "_Y-You."_

"What?" He looked alarmed. "What is it?"

"If you're from Elympios then you're with _them,_" I hissed. Panicked tears stung my eyes as I contemplated whether I should draw my sword or scream or do both. "With Exodus! God, I'm such an _idiot."_

He looked briefly confused, but once he fully took in my words his eyes grew wide. In an instant he was on his feet too.

"What? You mean that military group? What are you talking about? Of course I'm not!"

"Let me guess, you've just been spying on me this whole time, right? What, you were just planning on handing me off to them once we reached Sharilton?"

"Maggie, you need to calm down," he was saying. "You're not making any sense. Why would I spy on you? For some military group? _Me?_"

"Then how else would you have gotten here, Alvin?!" I realized I was nearly shouting at him and fought to lower my tone. "You know about them, right? What other answer is there?"

"Well how did _you_ get here, huh?" he challenged.

"I..." Right. I hadn't exactly denied his claim that I was from Elympios. He was giving me such an earnest look that I started to second-guess myself. If he were really with Exodus, wouldn't he know where I was really from? Wasn't that why I was so angry and scared right now - because I thought he'd been some kind of spy for Elias this whole time?

My blind rage subsided slightly. His reaction wasn't really matching that of a spy who'd been discovered, denials aside.

"Look, I haven't heard tell of that group since I was six years old," he explained gently. "Twenty years ago, when my family was pulled through alongside them. My mother took me away from them so I could grow up peacefully in Xian Du and that was the last time I saw any of them. Hell, I just assumed they'd disbanded and scattered.

I stared at him fearfully, as though any moment he was going to reach out and attack me. But he didn't.

"So...you don't know Elias?"

"Who?" His tone was desperate. He really had no idea what I was talking about.

"Shit." Dazed once again, I let myself drop down onto the bench, staring wordlessly at the ground. What was I supposed to make of this? Alvin really seemed to have no clue about Elias, or Earth or anything that was really going on with me. He thought I was just a stranded Elympion like he was. I thought back to that barely-contained excitement in his eyes. Was that all it was? Was he really just happy to meet someone else like him? Someone he didn't have to lie to?

Wasn't that something I could completely relate to?

He'd presented me with the perfect opportunity, and I was tempted to take it. If I just lied and said that yes, I was from Elympios, and I'd somehow been pulled through to this world, then maybe that would make things easy. He hadn't been there since he was a child. How much of it could he really remember? It would probably be easy to lie about where I was from.

But I couldn't. I was tired of lying.

"What did Exodus do to you?" Alvin was back on the bench beside me, looking serious. "Is that who that woman from Nia Khera is with? Were they the ones in charge of experimenting on you?"

"You're right," I said, breathing a heavy sigh. I made no effort to hide the way my entire body trembled anymore. A few stray tears were leaking down my cheeks. "I'm not from Rieze Maxia."

"I _knew _it," he began excitedly. "I told you I - "

"But, I'm not from Elympios either."

This effectively shut him up. His eyes narrowed in confusion, and his whole body sank forward.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know about Elympios, but I'm not _from _there..." I trailed off, feeling suddenly even more nervous. How was I supposed to explain this? I barely knew what was going on myself.

"Then where are you from?"

I folded my hands in front of my face. "Well, here's the thing. You know how in your...world, none of you have mana lobes?"

He nodded.

"Okay, well, I'm from a place called Earth, and it's kind of the same deal. Except it's a _lot _different. There's no...spirit artes, or monsters, or any of the stuff that exists here. A-And Elias - the guy who kidnapped me, that is - he found some kind of way to break through into my world, and he's kidnapping people to use as test subjects to try and like...I don't know. Grow mana lobes? It makes no sense to me. He's absolutely nuts, but...that's how I got here. And that Blair girl from Nia Khera, and..."

"Your brother?"

I stared at him. I couldn't read his face - his eyes were unfocused as he tried to take all of this in. At least he wasn't looking at me like I was crazy.

"He's not actually my brother," I admitted. "His name is Keegan, and he was the first one that Elias brought here. He's the one who rescued me from that lab."

He took a long pause. "Here's something I don't understand. If this Elias guy figured out how to travel between worlds, then why hasn't he used it to take everyone home yet?"

"I'm...really not sure about the specifics," I said. I tried to search back through my memory for what Keegan had told me. "But, from what I could gather from what Keegan said, the barrier that separates this world from Elympios, and the one that separates it from my world - they're completely different. It'd be like…if one was made out of cloth and the other one out of wood, or something."

"Different tools for different materials..."

I didn't say anything. Normally I would have scrambled to fill the silence in a situation like this, but Alvin seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, and I really wasn't sure what I should say next.

"So why Sharilton?" Finally, he was starting to return back to me. At the very least, he was actually looking me in the eyes again.

"What?"

"Let's say you're telling the truth, and you're from some kind of other world, and you really know nothing at all about Rieze Maxia. If that's the case, then I know you'd have no way of knowing this, but Sharilton is only about a day's journey from Fort Gandala. You'd practically be walking right back into the lion's den, and what's the point? You don't actually have family waiting there for you. It's dangerous, and pretty damn stupid, if you want my opinion."

"I _know_," I snapped, feeling suddenly quite nauseous. "I...I know that. But Keegan promised me that I would be safe there, and I have to trust him. He's out there somewhere right now, trying to find a way to get me home. He's my only hope."

He sighed heavily, casting a glance towards the others. "Does the kid know about all of this?"

"Jude? Of course not. I haven't told him, and I don't plan on it. He doesn't need to know about any of this."

"Huh. So you don't trust an honest guy like Jude with your big, terrible secret, but you don't mind telling a shady guy like me?"

"I trust Jude," I said firmly, guilt causing my stomach to churn. "But he...he has enough to worry about. I'm not going to drop the whole 'other worlds' bomb on him and disrupt his whole perception of reality. You're already halfway there. You know at least one other world exists out there. Do you believe me about a second one?"

He stared at me for a long time, and I refused to look away, even when I could feel myself starting to blush. After what felt like an eternity, he sighed again.

"I guess I do. I mean, it makes sense, all things considered. And anyway, who am I to call you crazy? My story would sound pretty damn unbelievable to anyone else."

And then it was like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I'd been walking through sludge up until this point, and now I was running completely free, feeling a lightness I hadn't known was possible.

Alvin believed me. I didn't have to lie anymore. At least not to him.

"Alvin, I'm…" And then, to both of our surprise, I started crying. I didn't try to hold it back this time – I let it happen, full-on sobbing like a little kid. If I was going to be honest with him, I guess I was going to be _totally _honest.

"H-Hey, you don't have to cry about it…" He started awkwardly patting my shoulder. His hand settled on my back, rising and falling with each sob.

Finally, I pulled myself together.

"I'm sorry, I just…you have no idea how much of a relief it is that you know now. I thought I was going to go crazy, not having anyone to talk to about it." I sniffed, wiping at the wetness on my cheeks. "God, I'm such a mess. Embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it kid." He gave my shoulder another pat before letting his hand fall. "Your secret is safe with me."

For once, there wasn't anything irritatingly condescending about the way he called me "kid". Instead, I just felt immense gratitude as the ocean waves calmed the last of my rattling nerves.

* * *

**Gotta love that dramatic irony, am I right folks?**

**We're slowly approaching one of my favourite planned parts! Stuff is going to start to get real dramatic. **

**Will trusting Alvin pay off? You'll have to wait and see! ;)**


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